'We give up!' Sony Sugar contemplate AFC Leopards walkover
What you need to know:
- The team had faced a massive exodus of players after the end of last season due to financial challenges and now had to rebuild
- Sony Sugar are yet to a dime from the 'sponsors' and may not honour their league match against AFC Leopards scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Awendo
- Sony are currently 16th in the KPL standings with three points from four matches
Early in August, struggling Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side Sony Sugar announced they had acquired a new sponsor for the new season.
Quantdragon Limited, who had presented themselves as a Hong Kong-based IT company, were to sponsor the club to the tune of approximately Sh34 million for the 2019/20 season.
The Millers had faced a massive exodus of players after the end of last season due to financial challenges and were forced to rebuild. In came experienced tactician James Nandwa as head coach and Willis Waliula as technical director.
The rebuilding process kicked off in earnest and the team was up and running. However, just two months later, Nation Sport can exclusively reveal that Sony Sugar are yet to receive a dime from the 'sponsors' and may not honour their league match against AFC Leopards scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Awendo.
“We had an agreement with the sponsors that they would be depositing USD 28,400 to the club account every month for the full season but we have never received even a coin from them. Our calls and emails have gone unanswered and we are now in the deep end financially. We have had to incur debts to honour the four matches of the season and cannot do that anymore – we will not play on Saturday,” chairman Gabriel Otiende told Nation Sport.
“We have not paid players and the technical bench since August and this is becoming too much now. What we are going through is just a reflection of the true state of Kenyan football currently – clubs are struggling and I know for a fact more will forfeit matches soon. The government has to find a way of supporting teams in the KPL. I call upon any willing partners to support Sony because we are in a dire situation,” added Otiende.
According to KPL rules, a club should be fined Sh500,000 for the first walkover, Sh1 million for issuing a second walkover and Sh1.5 million for three walkovers which comes with a further penalty of relegation to the National Super League.
Sony are currently 16th in the KPL standings with three points from four matches.
