Nairobi News

Sports

Mwendwa on the spot over new league trophy


Stakeholders have questioned the move by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa to spend millions of shillings in purchasing a trophy for the title winners.

This past week, Mwendwa has fielded interviews with the mainstream media, in which he paraded what he referred to as ‘a 24-carat gold-plated trophy weighing 11kg’, and ‘that had cost in upwards of $50,000’ (about Sh5.5 million).

The glittering trophy, he added, will be awarded to the 2020/2021 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League champions at the end of the current league season.

The youthful football boss also confirmed the purchase of the trophy has set the federation back by between Sh5-6 million.

“What is the justification of having a trophy whose prize is bigger than the prize money awarded to the league champion?” posed Twaha Mbarak, FKF’s former vice-chairman.

Former FKF president Sam Nyamweya also questioned the move.

“Clubs have not been paid. Most players have not been paid for months, we do not have venues to host league matches. Sponsors are shying away and yet Mwendwa’s priority is to fly to Dubai and bring a trophy?” he asked.

In an interview with Nation last week, Mwendwa was cagey about the price of the trophy.

“Why do you want to know the cost of the trophy? Why are you asking trivial things? What is the value in telling Kenyans about it? I am hesitant to talk about money but the heritage of Kenya. We are talking about what has been done that has never been done before. We need to get away from attracting monetary value in every little thing we do,” he said.

The trophy was crafted by Crystal Arc, a Dubai-based trophy manufacturer.