Kenya: Sh23.3 Million Owed and Counting - Harambee Stars Coach Firat Says His Coffers Have Seen No Cent

5 September 2023
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Timothy Olobulu

Nairobi — "Of course nothing is paid" - In his own words, this is the current predicament of Turkish tactician Engin Firat, who has laid bare, that his coffers are yet to receive any monetary reciprocation, in his role as Harambee Stars head coach.

The tactician has said he has not been paid his salary as head coach, and Capital Sports has learnt that he is unpaid for eight months.

"Nobody in Kenyan football who makes more sacrifice than me," Firat said when questioned if the promises by the government that it will cater for his salary have been fulfilled.

According to a source at the Federation, Firat is entitled to a monthly salary of 20,000 USD (approx. Sh2.9mn) monthly, all to be catered for by the Ministry of Sports, but since his return, hasn't seen a coin of the monies.

"The Federation has been in touch with the Ministry, but the only response received is that 'we are working on it'. Of course there is nothing much to be done, but the agreement was that they (Government) would take care of his salary," the source at FKF said.

Kenya has been in trouble before for failing to pay former coaches, with former tacticians Bobby Williamson and Adel Amrouche having been rewarded handsomely for the same.

While parting ways with Frenchman Sebastian Migne, the Federation had to part ways with a good amount to ensure they do not land into similar problems.

And now, the Firat situation looks like a ticking timebomb.

"It is the government's responsibility, but it is FKF who will be taken to FIFA if things turn worse," the Federation source said.

This comes just as Harambee Stars prepare to get back into competitive football, with the 2026 World Cup qualifiers set to kick off in November.

Even as he juggles about the issues with his salary, Firat wants proper preparations for these qualifiers.

"We can't have players taking flights that are more than 20 hours because of long lay overs to save on costs. We need to have players in comfortably and early and we also need to invest in a lot of preparation and that needs support," Firat said.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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