Okudo: FKF has fallen out with media, fans
Sports Principal Secretary Joe Okudo says the current Football Kenya Federation (FKF) administration has lost the support of the media and other stakeholders.
Okudo made the comment on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, when he honoured summons from the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to discuss among other things, the Ministry of Sports’ expenditure.
Okudo also accused FKF, led by president Nick Mwendwa and Chief Executive Barry Otieno, of failing to account for monies the government has advanced to the football body.
He also told the lawmakers that the Ministry of Sports had invited several agencies including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and Auditor General to probe the federation’s accounts.
“They (FKF) used to rush to the media (to complain) but currently they do not have good relations with members of the public going by what we are reading on social media following the (national) team’s poor performance, said Okudo, as quoted by the Business Daily.
“The Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Sports and Heritage has also subsequently written to the Registrar of Sports to undertake a thorough financial audit of all the accounts of the Football Kenya Federation,” Principal Secretary Joe Okudo told MPs.
The men’s national football team was recently thrashed 5-0 by Mali in Morocco, and again 1-0 by the same opponent in Nairobi, in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, a result that left fans expressing their frustrations on social media.
Okudo also clarified that a lack of trust between the government and Mwendwa has led to the Ministry of Sports paying its players directly.
The comments come days after former Harambee Stars midfielder McDonald Mariga claimed national team players are not motivated to don the Kenya jersey partly owing to reduced allowances amounting to Sh750 a day they earn while on national team duty.