Virus from hell ruined football plans, but pay players and spare them pain

What you need to know:

  • Apart from the Bundesliga which resumed at the weekend, it is not known when other leagues will follow suit
  • There are reports in the media of foreign players in the KPL who cannot travel back home because of the coronavirus
  • The player lives worse than those in Kenya Covid-19 quarantine zones which have become police prisons for any petty offender

The Kenyan Premier League ended with a whimper. There was no bang, no intense celebrations, no song and dance by the winners. It will be no surprise if many Kenyans don’t know that, and our fear is, they don’t give a hoot about it.

Since the coronavirus pandemic abruptly stopped football leagues around the world, I have only met two or three people who wanted to know the fate of our local league. The rest of the football fans I have spoken for are eager to have the European leagues restarted.

Apart from the Bundesliga which resumed at the weekend, it is not known when other leagues will follow suit. We can’t blame the fans for preferring the European leagues.

The main reason for this is the casual attitude of football managers in this country. They, too, don’t seem to care. It is embarrassing that players are still talking about unpaid bonuses they were promised for every win in the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) held in Egypt last June last year! Kenya beat Tanzania 3-2 in group “C’ during the tournament.

Some players who helped the team to qualify for the final but did not make the trip to Egypt have not received their bonuses. Football Kenya Federation (FKF) seems to have forgotten about them. FKF are focusing all their energies on re-election.

To add salt to injury, clubs too are not doing any better. There are reports in the media of foreign players in the KPL who cannot travel back home because of the coronavirus.

Gor Mahia midfielder Jackson Owusu has been detained by a hotel in Nairobi over unpaid dues. The poor lad from Kumasi, Ghana, is unable to leave the Buru Buru hotel until there is assurance of how the bill of Sh600,000 is settled.

Owusu, who joined K’Ogalo in January, said he had been depending on the club management to bail him out, but they have not been forthcoming despite making promises.

This youngster’s parents back in Ghana depend on him. But because he is broke and is unable to support them, he has been forced to beg them to send him cash to survive on.

Had it been in another country, and not Kenya, the situation would have been embarrassing. The player lives worse than those in Kenya Covid-19 quarantine zones which have become police prisons for any petty offender. Owusu said: ''I survive many times by only eating one meal in a day and it has to be given out after the attendant has received the go-ahead from the manager. Some fans brought me food on Wednesday and I am really grateful for their kind gesture.''

After all these cases, can Kenyans love their football? These things must be corrected before we become serious!