Coronavirus: Caf aids FKF with Sh20 million
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) is set to benefit from a Sh20 million relief kitty from the Confederation of African Football (Caf) aimed at cushioning the football body’s stakeholders from the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic has severely affected football operations around the world and in Kenya, FKF recently announced the suspension of all football activities this season, leaving players, coaches and referees among other stakeholders, stranded.
According to a statement from Caf, a $10 million (about Sh2 billion) fund will be distributed to each of its 54 member association including FKF, meaning each Federation will receive about $200,000 (Sh20 million).
Video conference
The decision was communicated at the video conference enhanced Caf meeting held on Thursday when the Emergency Committee approved the decision.
The money is meant to support the management of football at the domestic levels hugely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic where football in virtually all the countries apart from Burundi, Seychelles and Lesotho came to a standstill.
“The Caf Emergency Committee has approved the immediate distribution of financial grants to member Federations to support the management of football at the domestic levels affected by the global pandemic. A total of USD 10.8 Million will be offered to the 54 Member associations on the continent as part of a relief plan to ease the financial burden on the African football community during these unprecedented times,” a Caf statement read in part.
Earlier this month, Caf also confirmed the immediate distribution of $3.5 million (about Sh350 million) to the participants of the Interclub competitions for the 2019/20 season since the two main club competitions, Total Caf Champions League and Total Caf Confederation Cup, were suspended after the quarterfinals matches due to COVID-19.
This is the second time inside a month FKF is benefitting from such funding, coming after world governing body disbursed $550,000 (about Sh55 million) to help cushion Kenyan football from the pandemic.
The government has also launched a stimulus package aimed at cushioning Kenyan Premier League and Women Premier League players.