“I don’t think we would have survived if we didn’t have the performance from the fans. Not with 11 players, not with 10 players.”

That is how Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy summed up the electrifying atmosphere created by thousands of enthusiastic home fans who cheered 10-man Kenya on Sunday to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over giants Morocco in their third Group “A” match at the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan).

The highly-anticipated clash was held at the 48,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Kasarani. That victory boosted Kenya’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the 19-nation, biennial tournament, as they top Group “A” with seven points from three matches. Angola are ranked second in the group with four points from three matches, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo on three points from two matches.

Morocco, also on three points but with an inferior goal difference from two matches, are fourth, while Zambia are bottom of the group with no points after two matches. Only the top two teams in all four groups will reach the quarter-finals of the four-week competition.

Harambee Stars employed sweeping Mexican waves, chants of “One million”, a glittering sea of mobile phone torches, and Poznan dance to urge Harambee Stars on in the match. The fans created Mexican waves by standing up and putting their arms in the air after the person to one side of them, creating a continuous wave-like motion through the crowd. This was almost always followed by Poznan dance, a football celebration where fans turn their backs to the pitch, link arms, and jump up and down together.

Before fans took to the Poznan dance on Sunday, the Mexican wave had been the most preferred style of cheering the team and coach. McCarthy was impressed by the energy from the fans.

“Today we experienced the 12th man. The fans were incredible, the Mexican wave, I think at times when the game wasn’t going accordingly to the way we planned and the way we set up because we had a player less, the fans gave us that extra little boost,” a beaming McCarthy told a packed post-match press conference after Kenya’s 1-1 draw with Angola at Kasarani on Thursday. Kenya played for more than an hour with 10 men after midfielder Marvin Nabwire was sent off in the 21st minute.

Whereas Poznan dance originated in 1961 at Polish professional football club, Lech Poznan, which is based in the western Polish town of Poznań, opinion is divided as to when the Mexican wave began. Some sources suggest it originated in the 1960s and 1970s. A 2010 report by BBC indicates that what is not in dispute is that the Mexican wave got a large measure of publicity at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and took off at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Since then, it has been cemented in football fans’ minds as the Mexican wave.

Fans who lent colour to Kasarani Stadium in Kenya’s matches against DR Congo, Angola, and Morocco by performing Poznan dances were mostly total strangers who joined their arms side by side and bounced up and down in unison on the stands, their backs turned to the pitch.

“It was unbelievable,” remarked Jude Mbiria, a fan who has taken to the Poznan dance with gusto.

“All the people I was jumping up and down with were total strangers to me. I just love that unity,” he said. Although the dance is associated with fans of Polish football club Lech Poznan in Poland, it has been performed by fans of many football clubs globally, including fans of English Premier League side Manchester City.

While the cheering has been loud at Kasarani Stadium in all of Kenya’s matches, there have also been loud chants of ‘One million!” by fans, a subtle reminder to the players of President William Ruto’s Sh1 million promised to each member of the squad for every win. With two wins and a draw already, each member of the 42-man Kenyan squad is guaranteed a total of Sh2.5 million.

Yesterday, President Ruto increased the reward to Sh2.5 million for each player should Harambee Stars beat Zambia in their last group match on Sunday at Kasarani Stadium, and the chants will likely go a decibel higher and transform to something like “two point five million!”

On Thursday evening during Kenya’s match against Angola, thousands of enthusiastic home fans lit up their phone torches at the stands, creating a magical glow inside the stadium. The fans have also been clapping and tapping the back of their seats in unison in a show of support for Harambee Stars.

“…so this victory, we owe it to the fans,” McCathy said after Kenya’s win over Morocco. Even the visiting teams have been impressed by the enthusiastic support of Harambee Stars by the home crowd.

“I congratulate everyone who was here today in the stadium supporting the Kenyan team. It was a very good party, it promotes football,” Angola’s coach Pedro Goncalves observed after his team’s 1-1 draw with Kenya on Thursday.