Why our KPL clubs have bigger problems than we ever imagined

KPL MATCH 2018 Gor Mahia FC players acknowledge fans response during KPL match against Nzoia Sugar FC at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos County on Sunday March 11, 2018. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]
 

There is trouble in paradise. A lot of trouble to write about, and if proper steps are not taken sooner to correct the situation, we can only go one way from here, underground.

As things stand, we are on the ground, fighting to get on our knees so we can muster enough strength to try and get up on our feet.

But as the clergy man paraphrased a fact of nature, for you to get up when you are down, you have to go down on your knees — and pray. In our case though, we may need more than divine intervention because it seems, we are always praying, and hoping, against hope, for a miracle.

And so it came to pass, that Kenya’s biggest club, in terms of fan base, and not financials, went to Tunisia and got mistreated, and then lost by a goal to Esperance, a continental powerhouse which our local club could not beat in our own Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos.

That Gor Mahia were mistreated in Tunis has dominated sports chats and no Gor Mahia fan or official can talk about the CAF Confederations Cup without mentioning that K’Ogalo were not accorded State protection yet they are Sirkal — government.

Every other person is talking about the mistreatment of the Green Army in Tunis, and it has been almost labelled racism, and it has also been alluded that the continental body is silent because “North Africans fund CAF.”

 

Gor should have done better

This mistreatment talk has even made us forget that this was a two-legged affair and Gor could have done their bit when they had the “home-ground advantage” in Machakos.

Ideally, it is not easy to understand why Gor Mahia fans and officials are stuck on the mistreatment of their players and officials yet when they were at home, they spent considerable amount of time at their “base” because the players were demanding their allowances.

We want to paint Gor Mahia and local clubs as saints whose officials are so good-hearted and always work towards the welfare of their players, and when a Kenyan club performs poorly away during a continental championship, the blame lies with their hosts.

That is wrong. It is also dishonest considering that currently, there are unconfirmed reports that captains of Kenyan Premier League (KPL) clubs are talking of going on strike until KPL secures sponsorship.

That KPL has no title sponsor is not a lie, but to consider going on strike is misguided not because it is the wrong thing, but because that is a wrong route to take to resolve the sponsorship issue.

If players are suffering, and missing their allowances, it is never the duty of the league to pay them even though it must ensure the players do not suffer, and if there are clubs that cannot meet their financial obligations, action must be taken against them.

That is the ideal situation that does not exist in Kenya considering that players are used to suffering, and missing allowances has become the norm, so much so that even Gor Mahia travelled to Tunisia without one of their key players who opted out unless he was paid.

 

Poor status of players

Taking care of players is the duty of the clubs and it is not the duty of the league, in this case, KPL to secure for them sponsors and partners.

While it is true that KPL has failed in several departments and contributed to the poor quality of the league and the even poor status of players, it cannot approach different firms and ask them to sponsor clubs or partner with them.

That is the role of the clubs, or rather their officials who have never failed to prove that they are challenged and always keep hoping against hope that it is the duty of corporate firms to look for them since they are too big.

Every now and then, they come up with excuses why they do not have sponsors or partners, and when things do not work out, they blame other people.

Officials of local clubs must stop living in the past and must up their game. Of course KPL and the federation too must ensure a conducive (playing) environment, literally and physically — an environment that can make the potential sponsors have faith that they will not be putting their money in a venture that will not be fruitful.

If it is indeed true that the captains of these clubs are thinking about going on strike, they should first take the officials of the clubs to task. The sad thing is that it is difficult to tell the difference between club officials and those of the Kenyan Premier League Limited.

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