Man Utd Old Trafford: The Leaking Roof That Reminded Kenyans Of JKIA [VIDEO]

Old Trafford, a football stadium in Greater Manchester, England and the Red Devils' home, became the centre of worldwide attention after videos emerged showing the stadium's roof leaking from the top onto the spectator seating area.

Marvin Chege Marvin Chege
May 13, 2024 - 22:05
0
Man Utd Old Trafford: The Leaking Roof That Reminded Kenyans Of JKIA [VIDEO]
Collage of leaking roofs at JKIA (left) and Old Trafford (right). /LARRY MADOWO.90MIN.COM

Sunday, May 12 was a disappointing day for football fans of the English Premier League (EPL) club Manchester United, and not because they lost 1-0 to title-chasing leaders and long-time rivals Arsenal, but rather a rare occurrence that reminded Kenyans of a similar situation back home.

Old Trafford, a football stadium in Greater Manchester, England and the Red Devils' home, became the centre of worldwide attention after videos emerged showing the stadium's roof leaking from the top onto the spectator seating area.

Nicknamed the 'Old Trafford Waterfall', the bizarre event exposed the facility's dilapidating condition amidst heavy downpours that impacted Manchester in the afternoon and would hit home once CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo shared a clip he took of litres of water creeping through the roof on its way down.

To rub salt to injury, Madowo, who was in attendance for the highly-anticipated Premier League clash, compared Old Trafford to other popular stadiums in Africa which have a better way of handling brutal natural elements.

Here's a video of the stadium's leaking roof:

“It’s raining heavily in Old Trafford, and I didn’t bring a sweater, look at that,” Larry remarked.

“If I hadn’t filmed the Old Trafford waterfall myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’ve seen nicer stadiums in Africa."

Madowo's clip sparked huge reactions amongst Kenyans who linked it to a similar occurrence that took place at the East African country's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi not too long ago during the heavy rains period.

The second such occurrence at JKIA in five months brought operations at Terminal 1C to a halt, with litres of water pouring through the roofs and onto the terminal's interior, leaving check-in desks and luggage conveyor belts among others soaking wet and employees abandoning their work stations to contain the deluge.

Madowo, who coincidentally shared a video of the leaking roof at JKIA at the time, went as far as dragging Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen into the mess, a matter done similarly this time round by Kenyans. It is worth noting that CS Murkomen is a Manchester United fan.

Reactions

X user Odinga Mandela wrote, “Murkomen, the number one Man U fan needs Ksh700 million to fix that.”

Farhiya Abass jokingly pointed out the coincidence of Madowo's involvement in both the JKIA leakage incidents and the recent Old Trafford Stadium situation, considering his repeated coverage of the JKIA leaks. She noted, “From JKIA to Old Trafford…the constant here is you, Larry."

“Even Old Trafford’s roof couldn’t hold back the tears watching the team’s performance, or maybe it's leaking to keep the fans cool. But on a serious note, they won’t fix JKIA leaking roofs after seeing this,” stated another user Dr. Gatimu Muchai.

Madowo has been on Murkomen's case ever since the latter criticised him for constantly calling out the torrid state of JKIA.

Murkomen appeared on Citizen TV on Monday, April 15 where he accused the journalist of double standards given that his international travels have suddenly made him realise the issues that have been affecting Kenya's main airport for years.

"I saw Larry taking videos at the airport. I was laughing because Larry was with us in the country for the last 50 years when that airport was like that. Suddenly because he lives in ‘majuu’ his eyes are open and realizes that there is no shade when you exit JKIA. It happens to all of us when we travel," he began.

However, Madowo responded by accusing the CS of gaslighting the JKIA issues and insisted that the Minister was misleading Kenyans, leading a relentless fact-checking expedition of the woes that have affected JKIA for years!

Some Facts About Old Trafford

With a capacity of 74,310 spectators, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembley Stadium) in the United Kingdom and the twelfth-largest in Europe.

Nicknamed "The Theatre of Dreams" by the late Sir Robert (Bobby) Charlton, Old Trafford has been United's home ground since 1910, although from 1941 to 1949 the club shared Maine Road with local rivals Manchester City as a result of Second World War bomb damage.

Old Trafford underwent several expansions in the 1990s and 2000s, including the addition of extra tiers to the North, West and East Stands, almost returning the stadium to its original capacity of 80,000.

Expansion

The last time the club undertook major works on Old Trafford was in May 2006, when 8,000 seats were added to the north-west and north-east quadrants of the stadium. Future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand, which would raise the capacity to around 88,000.

The Daily Telegraph reported in February this year that Manchester United shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to demolish Old Trafford and build a "Wembley of the North" on the same site, potentially being funded by the government's Levelling Up program. This would rival Wembley Stadium in North London which boasts of a capacity of 90,000.

Billionaire Ratcliffe, who founded the INEOS group and acquired a 25 per cent stake in United for a fee of Ksh197.1 billion (£1.2 billion) at the end of 2023, set up the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force, putting himself as chair.

Other members of the task force include Lord Coe, pundit and Manchester United legend Gary Neville and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

Aerial view of Old Trafford stadium, home to Manchester United. /THE TELEGRAPH