Why Harambee Stars coaches contracts were tweaked
Harambee Stars coach Francis Kimanzi reacts on the touchline during their international friendly match against Uganda Cranes at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on September 8, 2019. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Last Thursday, Court of Arbitration for Sports (Cas) ordered Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to pay former Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche Sh108 million
- The Scot is seeking Sh52 million in compensation with his case still ongoing at the Sports Disputes Tribunal
- FKF parted ways with Frenchman Sebastien Migne in September and promoted his assistant Francis Kimanzi to the role of head coach
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa has vowed his administration will not incur bad debts in future due to contractual disputes with national team coaches.
Last Thursday, Court of Arbitration for Sports (Cas) ordered Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to pay former Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche Sh108 million for unlawful termination of his five-year contract back in 2014.
The federation, then under the leadership of Sam Nyamweya, sacked him after he was banned for a year by Confederation of African Football (Caf) for allegedly spitting on a match official in an away match against Comoros. The ban was later reduced to six matches and he was slapped with a Sh1 million fine. The federation then moved with speed to fill in the gap by sacking him and replacing him with Bobby Williamson.
Williamson was also eventually sacked in 2016 by the new regime under Nick Mwendwa and just like his predecessor, Adel Amrouche, went to court seeking compensation for unlawful termination of his contract. The Scot is seeking Sh52 million in compensation with his case still ongoing at the Sports Disputes Tribunal.
Mwendwa now says such cases will be unheard of in the future as they have learnt the hard way. Speaking during FKF’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday, Nick Mwendwa said they will no longer offer coaches closed contracts.
“We are deep in debts as a federation and a large chunk of this is due to coaches suing us for unlawful termination of contracts. Moving forward, contracts with coaches will have a strict exit clause that clearly stipulates in the event we no longer need your services as a coach, we pay you two months salary and part ways. That is not negotiable and even the current national team coaches are working under the same terms,” Mwendwa said.
FKF parted ways with Frenchman Sebastien Migne in September and promoted his assistant Francis Kimanzi to the role of head coach.
His first assignment was a 1-1 draw against Uganda Cranes in an international friendly last month and he will once again be in charge when they take on Mozambique in another friendly on Sunday at Kasarani.
