Expensive sacking: Leopards to pay Koops Sh 2.4million

BY GILBERT WANDERA

NAIROBI; KENYA: AFC Leopards will pay sacked head coach Jan Koops Sh2.4million, making it the biggest pay out in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).

The coach, who was yet to be informed of the decision to sack him, said yesterday he will push for his pay for the remainder of his three-year contract.

“I signed a three-year contract with the club at the beginning of this season and there are still two years remaining which they have to pay me as agreed in our contract,”said the coach.

Koops said Football Kenya Federation (FKF) have a copy of his contract and he will ask for their help in case Leopards are unwilling to meet their demands.

“They are obliged to pay me and this is what I will push for to the end,” he said.
Koops defended his reign at the club which ended without a trophy in the just-concluded season.

“I worked hard and gave my best. There was no provision in the contract that?I win the league for Leopards this season and for me finishing third is a good performance which should be appreciated,” he said. Koops doesn’t like how he has been treated.

No communication

“Until now no one has told me about the sacking and this is the problem at AFC Leopards. There is no communication at all. All the National Executive Committee (NEC) have refused to pick my calls and I view their action as cowardice,” he said.

Regarding his future, Koops was categorial that he will ?be back in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) soon even as reports emerged that several clubs have already approached him.

failed to perform

Club Secretary General Winstone Kituyi denied that the club will be obliged to pay the coach that much money, insisting that he failed to perform.

“Every contract has a performance provision and we must not be intimidated into keeping someone even when they are not performing,” he said. Kituyi said they have been in contact with the coach and the way forward regarding the technical bench will be made public in a few days.

On Thursday, Leopards chairman Alex ole Magelo announced that Koops and the entire technical bench have been fired after failing to win any silverware in the just concluded season.

Magelo had earlier indicated that the committee was considering taking drastic action in protest at the poor performance. On Monday, Koops blamed his defenders and strikers for failing him.

Koops joins a long list of coaches who have lost their jobs in the just concluded season.

The others are Gabriel Kingi (Mathare United), Anaba Awono (Gor Mahia), Edward Manoah (Chemelil), Salim Ali (Sofapaka) and Sammy Omollo (Tusker).