Fears that Harambee Starlets may not honour their penultimate Olympic qualifiers against Zambia next week were allayed after the Ministry of Sports on Wednesday released Sh3.8 million towards the team’s preparations.
Subsequently, the team will report to camp this morning at the Stadion Hotel Kasarani after consultation between the Football Kenya Federation and the Ministry of Sports.
FKF had on Tuesday broke the Starlets’ camp and warned that the team might not honour their fixtures if funds were not availed at the earliest opportunity.
“FKF have diligently communicated to the Sports Ministry and the Sports Fund to come in and fund the national teams. We have, however, not received any response from the ministry, which is frustrating,” said FKF President Nick Mwendwa in a heated session with the media on Tuesday.
But on Wednesday, Mwendwa was a relieved man confirming that the women’s national team had indeed received support from the National Sports Fund. “We have received Sh3.8 million from the Sports Fund. The money was approved more than two months ago and is part of Sh16million budget we had submitted in June for our home and away fixture against Tanzania in the 2020 Chan qualifier,” he said
“Regrettably, we have learnt that all our other requests despite having been approved by the Sports Commissioner and forwarded to the fund administrator, they are yet to be presented to the board for consideration and approval,” lamented Mwendwa. Should Starlets’ prevail over Zambia, they will meet either Ivory Coast or Cameroon to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo next year.
