Revealed: Mathare pays highest allowances

Kenyan Premier League: Local clubs strive to pay huge allowances to motivate players

Premier League clubs pay handsome allowances despite lean income

Despite sliding down to the relegation zone, Mathare United have the best compensation system for its players in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).

The club sponsored by Britam and Betway has in place attractive allowances for players but this does not seem to have been enough to keep them flying high in the league.

Every Mathare United player earns a winning allowance of Sh11,000 for every home win. This increases to Sh13,000 for an away match. For scoring a goal and providing an assist a player walks away with Sh4,500. And that is not all. If a goal is scored within the first or last five minutes in a match, an extra Sh1,500 is paid to the scorer and the one who provided the assist.

A player, who is deemed to have been the best in every match irrespective of whether the team lost or not walks away with Sh7,500. For being a captain of the team George ‘Wise’ Owino is paid an extra Sh7,500 per month on top of his salary.

Owino’s assistants are each paid Sh5,000 per month. The club is also strict on discipline and fines players if they are either sent off or cautioned. A Sh1,250 is imposed on a player if they receive a yellow card and Sh2,500 for a red card.

Gor Mahia players are entitled to a Sh10,000 winning bonus but they do not receive anything in case of a draw.

According to the club’s deputy secretary general Ronald Ngala the winning bonus is a big incentive to the players and helps to raise the fighting spirit during matches.

“It is an incentive, which helps to keep the players motivated and as a club we have seen the positive impact that this has had on the players, he said.

At Sofapaka, who recently signed a Sh50 million three-year deal with Betika, players are paid Sh5,000 for every win but club chairman Elly Kalekwa reveals most of the time they are paid double this amount.

“In the contract, the amount written is Sh5,000 per win but most of the time we pay double the amount or even three times. Sometimes, they are even paid when they have lost,” he said.

Kalekwa explained that the money comes in handy for players who want to sort out a few problems.

“We pay after every match and this is how it should be. It is not fair to include it in the salaries because sometimes this delay and the players have to wait and it is inconveniencing for them.”

Tusker, the KPL defending champions pay their players a Sh10,000 winning allowance. In case of a draw, the players get Sh5,000.