No respite as player exodus continues in the Kenyan Premier League

Tusker striker Jesse Were poses with the 2015 Kenyan Premier League Golden Boot on December 9, 2015 during the Footballer of the Year Awards gala at Safari Park Hotel. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |

What you need to know:

  • 2015 Kenyan Premier League top scorer Were joins Owino, Akumu to play in the lucrative Zambia Premier League
  • Wanga has also played in Sudan, for giants El Merreikh.
  • Top flight Kenyan league seems to be in turmoil financially.
  • Kenya is currently ranked number 101 in the world on the current Fifa rankings.

The exodus of top SportPesa Premier League players to other African competitions continued last week.
Tusker FC lost Jesse Were who moved to Zambian top flight football league.

Were, who has been ranked the best striker in the Kenyan league in the last two years, joins another Kenyan, midfielder Anthony Akumu who penned a two-ear deal with Zambian champions Zesco United a fortnight ago.

“This is a good move, one in the right direction. Zesco is a serious institution with ambitions of conquering the continent. I am happy to be part of their project,” Were told Sunday Nation Sport.

Tusker's Kenyan striker Jesse Were celebrates scoring his third goal against Chemelil on July 12, 2015 during their Kenyan Premier League match at Nyayo Stadium. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

SportPesa Marketing Manager Kester Muhanji (right) presents the Sjak-SportPesa Kenyan Premier League Player of the Month trophy for July 2015 to Tusker striker Jesse Were on August 25, 2015 at the Ruaraka grounds. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Akumu, 23, arrived at Zesco’s Ndola base from Khartoum where he has been playing for top Sudanese club Al Khartoum.

The two Kenyans join countryman David ‘Calabar’ Owino who moved to Zambia at the start of 2015 from KPL champions Gor Mahia.

Harambee Stars' Anthony Akumu in action during a past match. Akumu penned a two-year deal with Zambian Super League champions Zesco United on December 23, 2015. PHOTO | FILE |

He was later joined by Jacob Keli - who signed for another top Zambian side Kitwe-based Nkana FC, formerly Nkana Red Devils.

Closer to home, two top Kenyan strikers players Allan Wanga and Paul Mungai Kiongera ply their trade at Tanzanian top clubs Azam FC and Simba SC respectively. Wanga has also played in Sudan, for giants El Merreikh.

These transfers have resulted to speculations with a majority of Kenyan football supporters suggesting on social media that Kenyan players deserve to play in more lucrative leagues in South and North Africa, Asia or even Europe.

REALISTIC

But how realistic is this perception. What cannot be disputed is the fact that all the aforementioned players were lured to these teams by better offers.

Top flight Kenyan league seems to be in turmoil financially. The lack of cash flow in the competition has been caused by a lack of investor confidence in football management.

Sponsors being the main partners of sports activities world wide, they contribute an estimated 50-70 per cent of income generated by clubs from sponsorship deals.

Without money, to hear that players go for months without pay is common. Half of home based footballers earn less than Sh50,000 a month.

Zesco United are bank rolled by Zesco  - an energy firm in Zambia - reportedly to the tune of half a billion shillings a month.

With that amount, “Timu ya Zico” - as the club fans refer to it - find it easier to offer their players lucrative contracts.

This explains why Kenyan players will rush to take offers ranging between Sh200,000-400,000 a month from Tanzanian and Zambian clubs.

George Bwana, a football agent, says Zambian clubs offer players better perks.

"All these players are given fully furnished three bedroomed houses, better match winning bonuses, medical cover and at least four return air tickets to invite their families over during the course of the season,” says Bwana.

KPL’s CEO Jack Oguda is at pains to explain why Kenya, despite its better economic stability, struggles to match the salaries paid by countries like Zambia and Tanzania.

“Player moves are always good. Zambia is a big footballing nation, being past winners of the Africa Cup of Nations and the fact that the big clubs over there are attracted to our players is something to be proud of. I challenge our clubs to seek better ways of remunerating players,” Oguda said.

Former Harambee Stars coach James Siang’a says Kenyan players deserve better moves.

“Were is Europe material, so is Owino, Keli and Akumu. Unfortunately some of the problems we are facing locally hinder them from playing at the biggest stage,” Siang’a who also previously managed Tanzania’s Simba FC says.

Kenyan internationals Paul Were, who plies his trade with FC Kalloni in the Greek Super League, and Aboud Omar, who currently plays for Greek league club Panegialios FC, have in recent times made it to Europe but some of these “problems” the country is facing could have something to do with Kenya’s poor performance.

For instance, Kenya is currently ranked number 101 in the world on the current Fifa rankings.

This implies that it is impossible for local players to be considered for elite leagues in England, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and other European countries, owing to stringent working rules.

Even Victor Wanyama required a special hearing by the United Kingdom’s Home Office to secure a working Visa to Scotland and England.

He was eventually given one on the basis of “exceptional talent from a low ranking nation.” The same institution denied another Kenyan McDonald Mariga a permit to work in England in 2010.

Were, too, had offers from Egypt, South Africa and Oman before opting for Zesco after being put off by the complexities of visa application.

Interestingly still, a number of Ugandan players like Dan Sserunkuma and Geoffrey Kizito, have moved to the Kenyan league as a “stepping stone” to earning a much better move in Europe and Asia.

Kizito, who starred for Gor Mahia in 2014, is on trial with a number of top clubs in Spain and could be making a switch soon.