Harambee Stars could lose a chance to train in Paris ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations between June 21 and July 10th followed a delayed release of funds by the Ministry of Sports.
Football Kenya Federation booked the camp in January under the recommendations of coach Sebastien Migne but the government's delay to disburse the money could see them lose to Madagascar or Ivory Coast who have also shown interests.
Stars are set to jet out for France on May 27 to begin their preparations for the continental tournament but according to Nick Mwendwa, they are yet to get even a share of the Sh244m budget they submitted to the government.
Kenya qualified for the Cup of Nations, for the first time in 14 years, after finishing second in Group 'F' behind Black Stars of Ghana.
Mwendwa said he had received a communique from France notifying his office that the camp will be handed to the highest bidder between Madagascar and Ivory Coast soon should he fail to meet the financial obligations as stipulated in the contract signed in January.
He said: “We risk losing the camp to the two countries (Madagascar and Ivory Coast) who have declared their interests. We signed a contract with them in January to secure it but we haven’t paid them and as you are all aware the demand is increasingly shooting up."
"The team is supposed to travel on May 27 but I can confirm we are yet to receive the money from the government. The players are yet to receive their Sh50m promise and we have debts to clear to the coach and a number of service providers.”
Meanwhile, Kenya has fallen two slots down in the latest Fifa rankings released yesterday by the world football governing body. Harambee Stars lie at position 108 following a 1-0 loss to Ghana in their final Group 'F' Cup of Nations qualifier in Accra last month.
Head coach, Sebastian Migne, who came under heavy criticism for his team selection for the Ghana tie, said he is now focused on the Egyptian tournament and already has a clue on which players will make the cut.
Neigbours, Uganda who are the best ranked side in East Africa fell two places to 79 after falling 3-0 to Tanzania in their last Afcon qualifier. Tanzania, who qualified for Afcon after 39 years hiatus, moved up six places to 131.
Senegal, the best ranked African side, moved one step to position 23, while second-placed Tunisia remain 28th in the world. Nigeria are third continentally at position 42 having climbed four steps followed by Morocco, who dropped two places to 45.
Democratic Republic of Congo are fourth at 46th followed by Ghana who closes the best five at position 49. Globally Belgium retains top spot ahead of France and Brazil, while England have climbed one place to fourth. This is the Three Lion’s joint second highest rating in history. They leap-frogged Croatia, who beat them in the World Cup semi-final last year, in the only change at the top five.
