Raila tried to intervene, it was too late

The Prime Minister, Raila Odinga has recounted how he put in a strong appeal to the British government on Monday night and, apparently, managed to secure a work permit for McDonald Mariga but it was too late.

By then, the 22-year-old could not move to Manchester City because the transfer deadline had just expired.

The PM disclosed this at a press conference at the Treasury, adding that all was not lost as the FA supremo had assured him that Mariga could join any Premiership club from this May.

“The FA president, David Triesman, assured me that with a UK work permit now in his hands, Mariga could join FA in May when another transfer window opens,” Raila said.

We could, however, not verify this as efforts to reach the FA offices in London were unsuccessful. The concerned press officer, Mark Whittal, was said to be away.

Had the PM intervened earlier, then the FA would have had to change its own rules to accommodate the former Parma midfielder.

First to go public

Raila said Mariga’s failure to join the world’s richest club hit the country hard, adding he had received numerous calls from concerned Kenyans who felt the government should intervene.

He noted that a delegation from the civil society and human rights was the first to go public with their demand that his office should do something and help Mariga secure a British work permit.

“I would like to assure soccer fans and all Kenyans that, together with the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Rob Mcaire, I have done what I could to get Mariga into Manchester City FC and [that] all is not lost,” the Premier said.

“I spent a minimum of three hours on phone talking to [British Prime Minister] Gordon Brown’s office, the Africa Office, Office of Culture and Sports, the Home Office, and to Mariga himself.”

Weaknesses in sport

He decried the low football standards in the country and called upon all the stakeholders to come in and assist the government in its efforts to improve the sport.

“The government requires the support of all the stakeholders, especially the media. If the media continues to poison football fans and coaches, then we won’t go far,” Raila said while assuring football lovers in the country that the government will invest more in the sport for meaningful results to be realised.

The PM also said Kenya was ready to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2016 as the government had put in place mechanisms of upgrading all stadiums in the country.