Govt won’t pay Sh109m Amrouche debt, Amina tells ‘irresponsible’ FKF
The government has turned down a request by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to pay a Sh109 million debt owed to former Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche.
Fifa and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) have ruled that FKF should pay the Belgian coach this amount for unlawful dismissal. FKF president Nick Mwendwa announced last week he was hoping the Ministry of Sports would foot the bill.
But Sports CS Amina Mohamed could hear none of it, instead referring to FKF as an “irresponsible” entity.
“No government in its right senses would fork out Sh109 million to pay an individual for the mistakes of an irresponsible federation,” Mohamed told the Standard.
“I don’t understand it. It is baffling to expect the government to pay for the irresponsible behaviour of a federation seeking to abdicate its role.”
“This has nothing to do with the government. Why is FKF not negotiating with Fifa or the coach (Adel Amrouche) on a payment plan?”
“They can pay it using their resources, such as from the sponsors or gate collections. It is unfair to expect the government to use taxpayers’ money for something FKF brought upon itself.”
Mohamed’s sentiments imply that Kenya now risks a ban from performing in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers unless they pay Amrouche in full.