Money makes the world go round and Harambee Stars players to the African Cup of Nations in Egypt in June are bound to make a kill.
Football Kenya Federation has lined up hefty allowances for the players who, at a minimum, will pocket Sh750, 000 even without kicking the ball and further will get a share in the Sh250 000 set for the team for a win and a similar amount for a draw.
With coach Sebastien Migne revealing of his plan of jetting out to France for camp with 26 players, the three players who will not make the 23-man final squad will fly back home with Sh250, 000 for their stay in Paris. The team will camp in Paris between May 27 and June 16.
The development comes as the federation, through president Nick Mwendwa, confirmed to have received the remaining Sh219m out of the Sh244m budget submitted to the government to cater for the team’s expenses, among which is the players’ remuneration. The federation had earlier received Sh25m which was part of the budget for their final qualifier match away to Ghana.
According to Mwendwa the players who will get Migne’s nod, will sign a winning bonus and allowances contract with the federation for the tournament which is planned for June 19 to July 14 in Egypt.
“We are glad we received the money from the government for the tournament and we have come up with a way to reward our players. Any player who will make it to the final squad will get Sh750,000 while the three who will be axed from the camp in Paris will get Sh250,000.We have also come up with the winning bonus for each group stage match and knockouts. The players will have to pen contracts which are being prepared.”
Nick was speaking during the launch of a partnership with betting firm Betin where six lucky fans will be facilitated to fly and cheer Stars, who will be making a return to the continental tournament after a 15-year hiatus. The partnership, dubbed ‘Shinda na Stars’, comes barely three weeks after the betting company splashed Sh20m to earn the ‘official Stars partner’ tag.
The federation boss also confirmed that the players who took part in the qualifiers will get Sh38m out of the Sh50m cash promise made by the government in December 2017. He also revealed plans of playing two friendly matches in Paris depending on whom the team will be drawn with when CAF conducts the draw this Friday.
“Out of the money received Sh38m will go to the players as part of the Sh50m promise and shall be divided by all players who played in the qualifiers and by how many matches each player played. We will play two friendly matches in Paris. We are in negotiations with a number of countries who will camp there. We will be able to disclose their identities when the draw in conducted in the course of the week.”
Stars have a better opportunity in a generation to go out and excel in Egypt with the chasm between the illustrious nations and the also-rans having been closed immensely in recent years.
