SS Assad Relegated After Tough NSL Season

SS Assad © Hassan Jao

Ukunda-based SS Assad will be playing in Division One next season after a tough campaign in the National Super League saw them drop to the third tier of Kenyan football.

It’s the end of the road in the National Super League for SS Assad. The Ukunda-based side has officially been relegated to the FKF Division One after five seasons in Kenya’s second-tier football league.

Their fate was confirmed on Sunday, June 1, following a narrow 1-0 defeat to Mombasa Stars in a tense Coastal Derby clash. The result left Assad 10 points adrift of safety with just two matches to play making survival impossible.

This marks a tough conclusion to what’s been a difficult campaign for Assad, who struggled to build momentum throughout the season. Despite flashes of potential, results didn’t go their way, leading to their slip back into Division One Zone A.

Assad’s NSL journey began on a high in October 2021 when they edged Luanda Villa 2-1 in a thrilling playoff at Camp Toyoyo, earning promotion to the second tier. That season, they had finished second in FKF Division One Zone A, just behind Naivas FC, who claimed automatic promotion.

Though the curtain falls on their NSL chapter, SS Assad will be looking to regroup and bounce back stronger in the upcoming Division One campaign.