AFC honcho Shikanda dispels rumours surrounding Aussem's exit

AFC Leopards chairman, Dan Shikanda, has swiftly moved to allay fears that head coach Patrick Aussems is uncomfortable at the club and could be silently contemplating an exit.

Reports circulating in the media have linked the Belgian gaffer with a possible move to Tanzanian champions Simba SC.

But in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, Shikanda was categorical Leopards had a running contract with the Belgian gaffer which would be renewed at expiry, depending on how things turn out at the negotiation table.

“We have a working contract that has an exit clause. We can always sit together to discuss the way forward. So the rumours revolving around Aussem's exit are neither here nor there. I'm yet to receive any official complaints from him so my assumption is that all is well,” said Shikanda.

On November 22, the Belgian went hammer and tongs at the club's bigwigs, asking them to put their affairs in order before things boil over.

Aussems, who returned to the country in October after a three-month sojourn in his Belgium homeland, expressed concerns about the persistent delays in offsetting huge salary arrears owed to coaches, players, and the rest of the staff.

“The technical bench, the staff and the players are facing many challenges (no salaries, no allowances, daily issues...) which prevent the group from working properly,” said Aussems.

“Carelessness of some people? Lack of professionalism? Hopefully, this situation will be fixed as quickly as possible,” he added.

This came exactly a week after Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi chipped in with Sh1 million individual donation to keep the cash-strapped club afloat.

Mudavadi's donation came hot on the heels of a palmy fundraiser by an ensemble of high profile leaders at a Nairobi hotel on October 2 that left the side Sh8 million richer.

However, Shikanda confirmed Wednesday they had already offset all the pending salaries but admitted the club was still in financial crisis.

“As we speak, we don't have any pending dues owed to the players. The only clubs that had it easy are the well-oiled parastatal clubs that have a running tap. This is because fans were not being allowed into the stands and these clubs mainly depend on the gate collections,” he confirmed.

“We are looking into ways of stabilising the club for enhanced performance in the Kenyan Premier League. Since the Fifa ban is still on, the only way is to ensure that things run smoothly, including paying the players and the coaches in good time, which we have already done,” said Shikanda.

Shikanda said he was impressed with the performance of the FKF caretaker committee, despite the hitches encountered thus far.

“Obviously there are always some teething problems at the start of anything. Hopefully, the FKF caretaker committee will find ways to fund the league and the clubs. The main issue has been a lack of finances.

“The community clubs have had a rough time especially during the Covid-19 period and that has really impacted negatively on the performance of the community clubs,” said Shikanda.