Coast Utd, Stima ownership row threatens league participation
Participation of National Super League (NSL) side Coast Stima in next season’s competition hangs in the balance following an ownership dispute pitting its management and that of a splinter leadership of Coast United FC.
In June 2014, the then leadership of the two soccer clubs signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to merge them into the now Coast United Stima Sacco with the aim of ensuring it gets the strength to earn promotion and feature in the Kenya Premier League ( KPL).
However, in an unprecedented turn of events last month, Coast Stima officials terminated the special agreement, seeking to stay independent ahead of the new season, a move that has sparked outrage among Coast United managers.
Coast United’s top brass led by Secretary General Ali Hassan Hussein, Technical Director Yahya Hassan and Vice-Chairman Ismail Mohamed, are now demanding that Coast Stima be barred from participating in the new league until the matter is restored.
The officials claim that Coast Stima has been hatching a plan to claim Coast United in the disguise of terminating the memorandum of understanding they had entered into in 2014. Coast Stima is owned by Kenya Power and Lighting (KPLC) while Coast United was solely a community club run by a few individuals in Mombasa.
“They terminated the contract without any notice, it is not what we had agreed upon, we have decided that we will not accept any decision apart from getting our rights,” said Mohamed.
