Harambee Starlets players to the 2017 Confederation of South African Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in August have protested the non-payment of their allowances by the Football kenya Federation.
A source within the set-up alleged that they were promised the cash, amounting to Sh85,000 a soon as they returned from the tournament, where they were guests.
The source also alleged that the team went to the Southern Africa country penniless, only to receive a Sh10,000 stipend on return.
“When we returned (from Zimbabwe), we enquired about our allowances but were given Sh10, 000 with the promise of getting the rest as soon as possible. It has never happened, more than two months later. It’s really unfair that we are being taken for granted and the federation should just tell us what’s going on because we have families and other issues to take care of. Actually, we are not sure how much we were to be paid in training allowances whether it was Sh750 or Sh500 per day,” said the source.
FKF president Nick Mwendwa acknowledged they owe the team money but was quick to note that this has been necessitated by their current cash-constraints.
He added that they owe money to the rest of the teams but should pay once they get some.
“There are procedures on how we pay our allowances. We do not only owe the woemn’s team but the rest of the teams too with an outstanding debt of Sh1.4m to Harambee Stars,” said Mwendwa.
He added that the senior men’s side only got a portion of their allowances during the friendly matches between Thailand and Iraq.
“We are yet to get our grants from Fifa and thus have not been able to pay up. We can only do so once Fifa remits the money. The availability of cash determines when we pay. We have a debt of Sh180m and we have to balance everything,” he added.
He said this has been communicated to the team management, refuting claims that the communication channels have been faulty.
The national team, under the stewardship of coach Richard Kanyi had an easy ride in the preliminary stage, winning all their three Pool ‘B’ matches before succumbing 4-0 to former champions Zimbabwe in the semis.
They went on to lose 4-2 to Zambia on post match penalties in the third place after a one-all draw in regulation time.