Kenyan Premier League debutants Nairobi United Football Club were crowned as Sports Personality of the Year (SOYA) 2025 Men’s Team of the Year.
Nairobi United beat other nominees that included national national football team, Harambee Stars, rugby league champion Kabras Sugar, basketball team Nairobi City Thunder and national under 20 volleyball team,
Nairobi United (The Naibois) pulled off the “Double” of a lifetime to recognised with the accolade.
Not only did they win the National Super League to earn SportPesa League top-flight promotion, but they also stunned the nation by lifting the FKF Cup against Gor Mahia.
Their fairytale continued onto the continental stage, where they reached the CAF Confederation Cup Group Stages in their debut season.
The men’s category includes teams that have put Kenya on the international limelight by virtue of their excellent performances in their respective disciplines.
Kabras Sugar RFC, Nairobi City Thunder, Harambee Stars and Nairobi United will be hoping to outdo each other in the battle to be declared the best sports team in the country.
Looking at each of their respective resumes as far as their performance in the past year is concerned, each of the nominees deserves their nominations to this category, which have in the past featured legendary teams who brought unforgettable glory to this country.
Kabras Sugar RFC continued their stranglehold on Kenyan rugby, securing their fourth successive Kenya Cup and fifth consecutive Enterprise Cup.
Their 41-match winning streak is a feat of modern sporting endurance.
Not to be outdone, Nairobi City Thunder electrified the courts.
They defended their Kenya Basketball League title with a perfect 21-0 record and dominated the BAL Elite 16 unbeaten.
While their BAL debut saw them exit in the pool stage, their domestic and regional dominance remains unmatched.
Meanwhile, the Junior Wafalme Stars (U-20 Volleyball) proved that Kenyan men can thrive on the net.
By winning bronze in Cairo, they secured the first-ever podium finish for a Kenyan men’s junior team at the African Championships.
The national football team, Harambee Stars, earned their nod through a clinical group stage performance in the CHAN tournament held in Nairobi.
Topping a “Group of Death” that included heavyweights Morocco and DRC, they showed a defensive grit that hasn’t been seen in years, eventually falling only on the heartbreak of penalties in the quarter-finals.
The 22nd annual Sports Personalities of the Year Awards (SOYA) gala was held at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on Friday night with outstanding sportsmen and women in 2025 being crowned in 16 different categories.
The gala was graced by Ethiopian former marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie reigning world marathon champion Alphonce Simbu from Tanzania.
SOYA was founded by five-time world cross-country champion and retired National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) president Paul Tergat.
Tergat noted that the event will increasingly reflect a Pan-African identity. “Because African excellence deserves African platforms that can stand on the global stage, we hope to see the SOYA Gala embody this spirit,” he said.
