Nairobi United: Football Club History, Honours, Owners and Fixtures

Nairobi United are a football club from Nairobi, Kenya, nicknamed the Naibois, who started in 2018 as a recreational side in Kasarani and reached the Kenyan Premier League for the 2025/26 season. They won the National Super League in 2024/25 and the FKF Cup in 2025, and in October 2025 they reached the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup at their first attempt. For readers in South Africa, this soccer club went from a fitness kickabout to a continental group in about seven years.

The live table, fixtures, results and squad sit in the data modules above and update after every match, so the words below explain how to read those numbers rather than repeat them.

Who Are Nairobi United, the Naibois?

Nairobi United are a Nairobi football club, nicknamed the Naibois, who reached the Kenyan top flight for the 2025/26 season after a climb through the divisions that took barely seven years. The nickname suits a club whose following is young, urban and at home on a phone screen. In December 2025 Citizen Digital, in an opinion piece, named them Kenya's Team of the Year, describing high intensity football and a youthful, digitally active fanbase.

From Kasarani to the Premier League: How Did They Rise So Fast?

The club began in 2018 as an informal recreational team in Kasarani, formed by men who simply wanted to get fit, and the first serious step came a year later. In 2019 founder Samwel Born Maina bought a Nairobi West Regional League slot from Riara University, the side played as 360 Media FC, and promotion to Division Two followed after one season. In late 2021 the club took over Balaji EPZ's Division One slot and became Nairobi United, although that slot later returned to Balaji EPZ. These slot acquisitions accompanied the club’s changes of name and division between 2019 and 2022.

The route back up came in late 2022, when Nairobi United acquired a third tier slot from Darajani Gogo and won the promotion playoffs, beating Zoo FC 1-0 to reach the National Super League for 2023/24. Their 2023/24 NSL campaign ended in fourth place, one point short of the promotion playoff spot, and the following season they won the league outright in 2024/25.

What Have Nairobi United Won?

Nairobi United's National Super League title arrived in 2024/25, alongside the FKF Cup victory in 2025. The National Super League title brought promotion to the Kenyan Premier League for 2025/26, the first time the club had played in the top flight. For readers in Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana, the NSL is the step directly below the Premier League, much like the second divisions at home, so winning it is the standard way up rather than a side door.

The FKF Cup final took place on 29 June 2025. On 29 June 2025 Nairobi United beat Gor Mahia 2-1 in the FKF Cup final at Ulinzi Sports Complex, and beating the record Kenyan champions in a final is about as loud an introduction as a second tier club can make. Within four months, the newly promoted side was playing on the continental stage.

How Did Nairobi United Get On in the CAF Confederation Cup?

Nairobi United made their continental debut in the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup and reached the group stage at the first attempt by knocking out Étoile du Sahel. They won the first leg 2-0 in Nairobi, lost the second leg 2-0 in Sousse, and went through 7-6 on penalties on 26 October 2025. Goalkeeper Kevin Oduor saved Étoile's seventh kick and then scored the decisive one himself, the kind of ending a television writer would cut for being too much. Nicholas Muyoti was the coach for both ties in October 2025.

The draw put them in 2025/26 Group B with Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, AS Maniema Union of DR Congo and Azam of Tanzania, which is a fair map of the African game drawn in four clubs. It could be argued that a Kenyan debutant sharing a group with Wydad was the best advertisement Kenyan club football had in years.

For Uganda, the East African thread runs through Azam, a Tanzanian club well known to fans across the region, and through the friendly rivalry of watching a neighbour do well. To find those continental matches in the results module, read the competition label beside each entry, since league, cup and CAF games sit together in one list.

Who Owns and Backs Nairobi United FC?

The Johnson Sakaja Foundation took over Nairobi United in 2024, and in July 2025 President William Ruto became a shareholder after investing Sh10 million at a State House reception. Kenyan top flight clubs have often leaned on patrons from business and politics, but a club backed by the foundation of Johnson Sakaja, Nairobi's governor when it took over, and part owned by the head of state is unusual even by those standards. That is why the ownership comes up in Kenyan conversation almost as often as the football. Perhaps the practical point for a supporter is stability, since backing at that level gives a young club time to build a squad and keep it together.

Why Did the Name Change, and What Is Nairobi United Not?

The club has carried two names in its short life. It played as 360 Media FC from 2019, after the slot bought from Riara University, and became Nairobi United in late 2021 when it took Balaji EPZ's Division One place, choosing a name that speaks for the whole city. The Balaji EPZ slot later went back to its original club, but the Nairobi United name stayed, and it carried the side through the third tier, the NSL and into the Premier League.

Not to be confused with: Nairobi City Stars, a separate Nairobi club bought by Ambassadors in Sport (AIS Kenya) in 2008 and renamed after that season, with its own history, squad and supporters. Searches for 'Nairobi United Nations' usually mean the United Nations offices in Nairobi, which is a diplomatic subject with nothing to do with football. So, if it is the Naibois you are after, you want the club that started out in Kasarani in 2018, while City Stars and the UN each have their own separate story.

Where Do Nairobi United Play, and What Is Matchday Like?

The venue for every Nairobi United home match appears beside it in the fixtures module, and it is worth confirming there on the day before you set off. The club's biggest nights so far have both been in Nairobi, with the first leg against Étoile du Sahel played in the city and the FKF Cup final against Gor Mahia held at Ulinzi Sports Complex. The crowd is young, the Nairobi vibe is loud and the celebrations tend to reach TikTok before the players have left the pitch. If you are going in person, allow extra time for Nairobi traffic, which keeps its own timetable regardless of the fixture list.

How Do You Follow the Squad, Coach and Fixtures From Africa?

The squad list, the current coach, the table and every result sit in the live modules above and refresh after each match, so they will always be more current than any paragraph. The full list of Nairobi United fixtures gives the opponent, date, venue, competition and start time for each game. Kenyan matches are listed in East Africa Time, so a 3pm EAT start is 1pm WAT in Lagos, 2pm SAST in Johannesburg and 12 noon GMT in Accra, while Kampala watches at the same 3pm as Nairobi. On the table (the log, if you are reading in South Africa), read points first, then goal difference and goals scored, which is how clubs level on points are separated.

Which Nairobi United Games Matter Most, and What Time Do They Start?

Meetings with Gor Mahia carry the most weight, because the 2025 FKF Cup final gave Kenya a new pairing between the record champions and the newcomers who beat them for a trophy. Continental nights come next, and a Confederation Cup tie against North or Central African opposition is where readers outside Kenya are most likely to tune in. In my opinion, any match against an established Nairobi club is worth circling, since the younger side has everything to prove and the older one has a reputation to guard, and that tension usually opens a game up.

Searches for 'Nairobi United vs' are fixture and result checks, and every entry answers them the same way, with the opponent, date, competition and start time, then the score once the match is played. EAT runs two hours ahead of WAT, one ahead of SAST and three ahead of GMT, so a 7pm EAT evening start is 5pm WAT, 6pm SAST and 4pm GMT, which suits West African viewers nicely. Check the status label as well, because a postponed match keeps its place in the list and simply moves to its new date.