Two veteran coaches have criticised the government’s decision to block football activities from resuming over the Covid-19.
KCB and Harambee Stars assistant coach Zedekiah Otieno and Bandari technical director, Twahir Muhiddin said the decision is unfair and is likely to impact negatively on local players.
“It is unfair decision considering the curve is going down. Furthermore, politicians are holding rallies and crowds are more vulnerable. Someone is being unfair to us,” said Otieno. He said teams should be allowed to train in small batches while observing guidelines.
“To make matters worse, the national team is supposed to play in one month’s time and we need the players to be fit. There is no way we can ensure they are fit if teams are not allowed to train,” added Otieno, who is also Harambee Stars' assistant coach.
Muhiddin on his part said football can be played without fans thus limiting the spread of the disease. “All we need to do is just test the players and everyone else involved and let the games resume. Football is being played in Tanzania and other countries. Furthermore, Fifa and Caf have released guidelines to be followed to ensure the safety of everyone,” he said.
He said the decision will risk the lives of 1,000 families involved in the game. ”Clearly those who make such decisions are not affected themselves. They are paid salaries at the month and therefore have nothing to lose,” he said.
