FKF: No more Adel Amrouche mistakes

Former Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche(left) with Sam Nyamweya.[Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has announced that no national team coach will be employed on a closed contract.

In a closed contract, there must be a mutual agreement for any provision to be changed or modified.

This comes a day after the federation was given a 30-day ultimatum to pay former Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche Sh 109 million for wrongful dismissal.

FKF admitted receiving the letter by FIFA but explained it is adopting this engagement with all the national team coaches to avoid a repeat of a situation it has found itself in.

“Essentially, the federation in an effort aimed at preventing a re-occurrence of the aforementioned case that was occasioned by former FKF president Sam Nyamweya has henceforth adopted a policy prohibits the hiring of national team coaches, at all levels on closed contracts,” read part of FKF statement.

The Nick Mwendwa-led federation has blamed the former regime for the payment mess it is grappling with. In a bare it all interview with KTN News’ Zilizala Viwanjani' show on Tuesday (24/03/20), the embattled FKF president did not spare his predecessor for igniting the Amrouche meteor.

“It is very unfortunate that we are in this position as a result of the mess created by the previous office of Sam Nyamweya. And now I have to deal with a complex situation involving two coaches I never employed,” said Mwendwa.

The federation has remained adamant that without the Government intervention it cannot be able to pay the Belgian Algerian born coach Amrouche.

“We will be out of Qatar 2020 qualifiers if the Government does not intervene. FKF does not have that kind of money,” Mwendwa added.

This month Sports Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Amina Mohamed completely vanquished any hopes that the government will pay Amrouche for a mistake they were not a party to.

 “No Government in its right senses would fork out Sh109million to pay an individual for the mistakes of an irresponsible federation,” CS Mohamed.

 “It is baffling to expect the Government to pay for the irresponsible behaviour of a federation seeking to abdicate its role,” she added.

But the author of this mess according to the current FKF leadership has absolved himself from the blame.

Nyamweya in a quick rebuttal said that the country found itself in this mess due to failure of the current regime to heed to his advice of reinstating Amrouche after he (Amrouche) served his one-year ban by Confederation of African Football (CAF)

We are in this situation because of the unbridled arrogance and now vigorously casting my name in a negative light,” read a statement sent to newsrooms.

“May I clarify as follows; that in my handing brief to my successor Nick Mwendwa, I did include the situation about Adel Amrouche and Bobby Williamson as national men’s team coaches.

“I did clarify the situation of both of them and explained in a letter which was sent to the Ministry of Sports dated February 5, 2016, on the same and asked Mr Mwendwa to follow up with the government which was then paying the national team coach,” Nyamweya said.