Broke Nairobi City Stars mull Kenyan Premier League exit
What you need to know:
- 2009 Kenyan champs Sofapaka also in the red as they struggle to pay players’ wages
- According to Jabuya, the monthly wage bill at the club stands at Sh1.3 million and the monthly grant of Sh600,000 from the league body was not enough.
Nairobi City Stars owner Peter Jabuya is contemplating the unthinkable: withdrawing from the Kenyan Premier League.
Jabuya said on Wednesday that the endless financial difficulties that City Stars have endured in the last three years, coupled with the hopelessness that surrounds their future was becoming untenable.
“The situation has gone from bad to worse. I am exhausting my resources and if the situation persists then we may be unable to play any further part in the top flight. Remember that there are new conditions laid out by Caf (Confederation of African Football) that all top league clubs should meet, but how do you comply without sustainable financial income? We may not make it.
“I have not paid players’ salaries for part of March and the whole of April, and last week, the players refused to train. That contributed to our 3-0 loss to Ulinzi Stars and I am beginning to think that it is becoming pointless to maintain this team,” Jabuya said.
Another Kenyan Premier League club, Sofapaka, is also on the brink of financial ruin as they struggle to meet basic expenses such as players’ wages.
Under club chairman Elly Kalekwa, the 2009 league champions had crafted a clever way of surviving; gaining from player transfer fees and sending their best players out on loan.
The recent mass exodus of key players over unpaid salaries has however left the club without Premier League quality, meaning that they are unable to continue surviving from the player market.
The Congolese club president has since left the club at the hands of a passion-filled technical bench and a few well-wishers.
It is a situation that led coach David Ouma to say 10 losses out of 13 did not make him an incompetent manager.
“These are the kind of players that I have at my disposal. Players who cannot beat a goalkeeper and score a goal even in the simplest of situations. That doesn’t make me a bad coach. I teach them everything during training. It is not my job to keep them motivated, my job is to make sure they can cope with their opponents,” he said after suffering his 10th loss of the season against table toppers Tusker.
Needless to say, both Sofapaka and City Stars are at the very base of the SPL table having won just two out of 13 games each.
According to Jabuya, the monthly wage bill at the club stands at Sh1.3 million and the monthly grant of Sh600,000 from the league body was not enough.
