By Gilbert Wandera

AFC Leopards have raised doubts over the Portuguese coach, Victor Salvado, they had contacted to take over from Jan Koops.

Leopards vice-chairman Walter Onyino confirmed yesterday doubts have emerged over the suitability of Salvado after they discovered he has not worked at Portuguese top side Benfica as indicated in his resume.

“The impression we got while interviewing him is that he worked at Benfica, but on close scrutiny it is not the case.  We have information that he has handled another club with the same name, Benfica White Castle.

“Because of that, we are seeking more information from the Portuguese Football Association (PFA) regarding this club and whether it is better than AFC Leopards.

“There is no need to hire him if he is working  at a lower level than Leopards,” said Onyino.

In the last two years, the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) has continued to attract both foreign players and coaches.

However, the reputation of some of them has been doubtful with no mechanism to carry out background checks of the individual coaches and players before they are allowed to sign contracts.

Leopards announced their intention to sign Portuguese national Salvado as head coach, but three weeks later, he is yet to arrive.

The club has already finished their signings for the new season, a process that was carried out without Salvado.

He further added that the club is determined to hire the right man this time round and are looking for a coach who can command respect on the technical bench.

He expressed frustration at the difficulty of getting background details of foreign coaches, pointing out that Football Kenya Federation (FKF) is unable to help in this regard.

“There is need to have a list of all foreign coaches and their credentials so that any club wishing to hire any of them can easily carry out background checks and are sure of whom they are bringing on board,

“We have had to deal with so many agents, most of whom we are not sure about their background and whether they are recognised,” said the official.

Kenya Football Coaches Association (KEFOCA) chairman, Ricky Solomon, said it is time to put in place mechanisms of vetting all foreign coaches before they are allowed to take up coaching roles in the country.

“In other countries, foreign coaches are required to do local examinations before being given contracts and this should be the same here. But for this to happen, we must put in place structures to make it work.

“We have time and again asked for this to happen but it is yet to be implemented and our clubs will continue to suffer because they are not sure about the credentials of those they are hiring,” he said.

At rivals Gor Mahia, the club’s coach Zradvko Logarusic said the Brazilian Giovanni Rodriguez, does not look like the kind of striker the club need at the moment.

He said the Brazilian may want to wait a little longer on the bench to prove himself.

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