NAIROBI, Feb. 14 -- OVER the past decade, football in East Africa has taken two very different paths. While Tanzania has treated its domestic league as a serious business and cultural product, Kenya has largely remained stuck in cycles of mismanagement, short-term thinking, and wasted potential.

The result is clear for anyone paying attention: the Tanzanian Premier League has pulled ahead decisively.

This is not an attack on Kenyan football, nor blind praise of Tanzania. It is a necessary, uncomfortable conversation about why one league is growing exponentially while the other continues to stagnate despite having talent, population, and passion on its side.

If football success starts anywhere, it starts with money and more importantly,...