Nairobi News

SportsWhat's Hot

Harambee Stars players stranded in Nairobi after Mauritius game


Two Harambee Stars players were stranded in Nairobi on Sunday evening after leaving the national team camp without receiving their allowances.

The stranded duo, all of whom are based in the Kenyan Premier League, were forced to borrow fare back home from their colleagues.

The national team had been in camp for ten days to prepare for the two legged World Cup qualifier against Mauritius. They are each owed about Sh 50,000 in training allowance and camping fees.

QUITTING FOOTBALL

“I have not been paid by my club for the past three months and thought the national team will be a reprieve. The situation is however worse here. At this point, I will seriously consider quitting football,” one of the players told Nairobi News.

The foreign based legion was also not refunded the monies they used to buy their air tickets to Nairobi from their respective bases in Africa and Europe.

DUTY OF GOVERNMENT

Football Kenya Federation, which lacks a consistent means of income save for the Fifa development funds, meanwhile insists the responsibility of funding the national team is solely the duty of the Kenyan Government.

This development comes after Nairobi News exclusively highlighted over the weekend that the Stars players almost boycotted the return leg game against Mauritius on Sunday.

In moments that can now be revealed in detail, the players packed up their belongings on Saturday evening and attempted to walk out of camp hours to the match over an unresolved dispute on their allowance and refunds.

‘HANDS ARE TIED’

The team’s technical bench then called federation boss Sam Nyamweya to update them on this issue, but he responded by telling them “they can do what they want since his hands are tied”.

Then assistant coach Musa Otieno took over and prevailed upon the players to change their minds.

“He asked us to play the match for ourselves, our careers and football loving Kenyans,” one player said.

Kenya defeated Mauritius 5-2 on aggregate to book a date with Cape Verde Islands in what would certainly be a tougher assignment in early November.