Two perennial problems haunting Kenyan football

Aerial vie of Kasarani Stadium as on November 28, 2024. The facility is still under renovation. [Ministry of Sports]

Last few weeks, two problems that have stuck on Kenyan football like hungry tick came to the fore. The first is romours that CAF had opted to transfer 2025 Chan hosting rights to Rwanda. Kenya is expected to host the continental show for African-based players with Uganda and Tanzania in February 2025. It is meant to be a precursor to 2027 Afcon that the three East African countries will stage.

CAF later denied making such a decision insisting that Kenya has been given time to complete stadium renovation in good time. History teaches us that it will take a miracle for Moi International Sports Centre - Kasarani and Nyayo National Stadium to be completed before February. Twice we got the honours for hosting continental tournaments, and twice we let the chance go.

In 2018, Kenya recently lost the rights to host Chan tournament due to failure to construct five stadiums. The announcement came in September 2017; this was about three years after Kenya won the rights to host the tournament. Two days earlier, Kenya had announced the approval of over four billion shillings for hosting the tournament.

The five stadiums that were to be constructed to international standards are; Meru Kinoru Stadium, Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret, Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos and Nyayo Stadium. By then Kasarani had passed but required minor renovations. The moment CAF cancelled the hosting rights, the money that was meant to complete the stadiums also disappeared. It seemed like it was a ploy to hoodwink CAF. CAF later awarded the hosting rights to Morocco.

Earlier in 1995, President Daniel Arap Moi had secretly written to CAF explaining that Kenya will not be able to host 1996 Afcon. This happened behind Kenya Football Federation’s back, the chairman, Job Omino was left mopping the floor trying to come up with excuses. Meanwhile, Kenyans believed that Moi was not happy that the opposition-aligned Omino was going to get political capital from the hosting. CAF pushed the tournament to South Africa who were more than happy after being admitted back to Fifa in 1992.

Even as the newly elected Football Kenya Federation (FKF) chairman Hussein Mohammed reassured Kenyans as he left for the 2024 CAF awards in Morocco, we know how the continental body acted in the past. The matter is beyond FKF, as long as the government does not give the hosting due consideration and funding, then there is nothing the local federation can do.

The other matter is the abrupt resignation of national team, Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat . The Turkish threw in the towel just moments after Hussein Mohammed and McDonald Mariga won the FKF elections. Hussein announced that he will look at his contract and see how much he is owed. Cabinet Secretary for Sports Kipchumba Mukomen had earlier said at a press conference that the government will only pay Firat’s salary until June this year. He also revealed that qualifying for 2025 Afcon in Morocco was part of his deliverables failure to which he was supposed to step aside. It seems Firat heeded the call and resigned.

As soon as FKF acknowledged receiving his letter, he reportedly filed an invoice of Sh80 million. This is meant to be twelve months’ salary arrears. The reports that came from people believed to be privy to his contract say he was paid about Sh1.5 million per month. This makes the amount owed to be about Sh16.5 million. However, national team coach’s contracts have never been made public. He has threatened to sue Kenya at the Court of Arbitration in Sports based in Zurich, Switzerland.

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In 2019, Fifa threatened to ban Kenya from international football for failing to clear former national team coach Adel Amrouche’s Sh109 million dues. His contract was unlawfully terminated in 2015 and the matter took him six years at CAS in Zurich.

Sam Nyamweya had reinstated Adel Amrouche’s as national team coach, five days to the elections that was won by Nick Mwendwa. He was on a five-year contract worth Sh2.5 million per month. However, he was suspended for one year by CAF upon which FKF appointed Bobby Williamson in his place.

Upon taking over, Mwendwa appointed Stanley Okumbi as national team coach and the Scottish went to court. Williamson later went to the Employment and Labour Court where he won a case against FKF for failing to pay his Sh145 million dues. The court awarded him Sh55 million.

Recently, Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee, also said FKF owes him money. He handled the national team at the 2004 Afcon but was later appointed for eleven months from October 2020 to replace Francis Kimanzi. He said FKF owes him over Sh1 million out of which they had paid him Sh250,000 this year.

I can bet that Francis Kimanzi and Stanley Okumbi are still owed money, but they have just decided to keep it to themselves. This usually happens with coaches who still have hopes of one day being appointed to handle a national team.

Hosting continental tournaments and coaches’ remunerations are two elephants that have refused to leave the FKF offices. We pray and hope that for the sake of 2027 Afcon, Kenya will be able to host next year’s Chan.