Zoo Kericho chairman Ken Ochieng has raised concerns over the rampant match fixing claims associated with clubs which ply their trade in the Kenyan Premier League and the National Super League.
Zoo have been adversely mentioned in the scandal recently following a series of repetitive similar losses but Ochieng believes the vice is widely practiced by a handful of clubs in the top tier leagues.
Ochieng alleged that the results posted by the clubs in the recent past were suspect and called on the relevant bodies to investigate the growing links to pre-determined results.
The relegation battling Zoo, reportedly fired six serial match fixers in their playing unit last week after losing their last three matches in an almost a similar fashion.
The club fell 4-1 to Western Stima before surrendering 4-0 to Ulinzi Stars and were smacked 4-1 by AFC Leopards last week, prompting Ochieng to release almost the entire back-line.
However, Ochieng who admitted to be privy to the match fixing claim in his team and who questioned the flashy lifestyles of some of the players, said the six were deemed surplus to requirement, thanks to their poor performance.
Ochieng observed that the menace was deeply rooted in the league and called on league honchos to help weed out the vice which he noted affected the growth of the game.
"We can't rule out match fixing in our two top leagues. The results some clubs post around are questionable and are not credible at all. Some margins are not as a result of poor performance but can be attributed to unprofessional players and officials who want to make money illegally. I am aware there have been rumours of pre-determined results at Zoo and we are investigating the case. We released some players based on their performance," he said.
He added: "Some lifestyles by players and officials suspected to be match fixers are questionable. They live beyond their means yet their only source of income is football."
Ochieng in the meantime said he will revert to their policy of giving youthful players the platform to express themselves at the expense of the experienced ones.
He regretted breaking the policy after the club earned promotion to the top flight in 2017, noting that senior players have been the root cause of poor performance which have seen them cheat relegation in the past three years.
" For the ten years we have been in existence, our policy has been giving the youth a chance and later allow them to join other clubs when they come of age. We, however, decided to rope in experienced players after making it to the top league. We have always had problems with senior players but I have learnt my lesson the hard way. I would rather lose the remaining matches with young players who will give one hundred percent."
