Mashemeji Derby: Why 98th Encounter Will Be the Loudest Yet Thanks to Ultras Green

A green wave of energy is sweeping through the SportPesa League, changing the way football is consumed in the stands, and increasing pressure on the next Mashemeji Derby.

Gone are the days when support was limited to soulful singing and polite applause; in its place comes a new generation that has traded subtlety for a high-octane theatre of colour, smoke, and unrelenting noise.

In the first article published by Nation, the center of this transformation is Ultras Green-a Gen Z-driven fan group that has turned Stand 14 at the Moi International Sports Centre into their pulpit. 

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It starts with smoke bombs clouding the air in shades of green, coordinated chants that ripple throughout the stadium, and visual displays demanding attention.

It is now only four days to go until the 98th Mashemeji Derby, and the anticipation is now no longer about the tactical battle on the pitch but also the atmospheric war in the terraces. The Green Ultras have set a new high bar that has compelled rivals like AFC Leopards and Shabana to enhance their own level of fan engagement as the stadium becomes a festival.

Usually, tifos-the giant choreographed displays common in fan culture-are meant to be seen once and then discarded to maintain novelty. However, Ultras Green has defied this convention with their tribute to the club's former patron, the late Raila Odinga. Unveiled in a 3-0 victory over Posta Rangers under a cloud of green and white balloons and the crackle of firecrackers, the banner was meant to be a fleeting farewell.

It has continued to fly, however, due more to the sentimental feeling the broader fanbase has for the picture of the deceased leader than for any other reason. It is also a labor of love that has connected the dots between the old-school "Team Choir" and the new-school ultras into one united front, adding that cinematic feel in the stadium.

"The tifo has become bigger than us. We intended to display it when we played Posta Rangers and later during the Mashemeji Derby and other big games, but other fans liked it and now want it displayed at every match," Evans Otieno, one of the founding members of Ultas Green was quoted by Nation Sport.

Emblazoned on the banner is the word ‘Jowi’—the Luo word for buffalo—underlining an evocative portrait of Odinga in suit and tie: it speaks of strength and fearlessness; it speaks of the qualities the fans needed to project when honouring their patron as "boss and a leader." The visual impact is so striking that the team’s choir requested that the banner be hung behind them to enhance the visual appeal whenever cameras capture shots of their choreographed dancing.

This spectacle does not come cheap. The group spent Sh24,600 creating the tifo and another Sh35,000 on matchday visuals like smoke canisters and firecrackers for the unveiling. Yet, it proved money well spent when players made their way to the terraces to sing the Gor Mahia anthem facing the image, a moment member Felix Oduor described as "visibly striking" and touching to witness.

The upcoming derby will likely serve as the peak of the new, poignant tradition that this group has started. Since Odinga's death at age 80, a ritual has taken hold, with fans standing in the 80th minute, clapping and chanting under the glitter of phone torches and smoke.

In Luo culture, the mourning period takes 40 days, and the Mashemeji Derby falls squarely in a time of high emotion. Whether the banner stays permanently or gets replaced later on, Ultras Green proved that they are not mere onlookers. They became the pulse of the club to ensure that by the time the derby kicked off, the spectacle in the stands would be as fierce as the game itself.