Football Caretaker Committee on the spot over failure to release funds
Local premier league clubs and referees have started feeling the heat barely three months since Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed disbanded Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and mandated a Caretaker Committee to run the sport for six months.
Currently, nine out of the 18 league clubs have not paid their players’ salaries owing to lack of finances.
The clubs, which last season were guaranteed Sh834,000 monthly grants from the federation, were promised Sh300,000 monthly grants by the Caretaker Committee led by Justice (rtd) Aaron Ringera as the league resumed in November, but they have never received a single cent from the body.
All the referees officiating the league matches are also yet to be paid for their services.
League giants Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards, Sofapaka and Mathare United have not paid their players and technical bench officials salaries for the last three months, the same as Wazito and recently promoted Vihiga Bullets.
Kariobangi Sharks, Posta Rangers and Nzoia Sugar have also gone for two months without paying members of their paying unit.
Covid-19 vagaries
Former league champions Mathare United yesterday raised the red flag over imminent collapse of community clubs in the Kenyan Premier League due to lack of finances to sustain their activities.
The club’s chairman-cum-founder Bob Munro petitioned the FKF Caretaker Committee spelling out the challenges of the affected clubs including his own.
Munro said a dark, ominous cloud is hanging over the clubs upon resumption of the top tier league after the festivities.
In a letter addressed to the committee’s head of secretariat Linda Oguttu, Munro said the challenges are too serious to ignore, adding that the authorities are duty-bound to walk the talk in saving the clubs from crumbling.
“In your email on December 23rd, you reassuringly wrote that you “are working with the ministry to resolve and ensure that no club collapses over financial instability,” said Munro.
The Mathare boss further outlined the causes of the clubs’ financial crisis which needs immediate attention, the top of which are the vagaries of Covid-19.
Munro pointed out that the problems afflict nine clubs which have no corporate support out of which a paltry five are funded by government or parastatals
“Mind you, the nine unstable clubs now owe 2-3 months in salary arrears to players and coaches.
Consequently, without urgent and major Sports Ministry and the federation CC grants, they will likely collapse in 1-2 weeks,” he argued.
Give walkovers
Munro further said walkovers will rise as clubs will lack funds to honour matches due to financial incapacitation.
Besides Mathare, other community clubs which have been affected are Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards, Sofapaka, Kakamega Homeboyz, Wazito, Nzoia and Vihiga Bullets.
Some of the clubs which are on the safe financially include KCB, Bandari, Ulinzi Stars, Bidco United, Police, Tusker and Nairobi City Stars.
Only 50 per cent of the clubs are presently stable financially as they are fully funded by government agencies and parastatals.
