AFC players wrong to stage strike over salaries
AFC Leopards' Clyde Senaji Clyde (left) vies for an aerial ball with John Omondi of Kariobangi Sharks during their Football Kenya Federation Premier League match at Kasarani Annex on January 24, 2021.
What you need to know:
- AFC players must stop chest-thumping through social media and work hard.
- Most of them earn Sh100,000 a month, their main target is winning AFC’s first league title after 22 years.
- Through football, the likes of Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are very wealthy. Nothing stops our players from thinking big.
AFC Leopards players have been working hard, they even thrashed Tikki Stars 6-0 in their away Football Kenya Federation Betway Cup match before going on strike over unpaid salaries recently.
Although the players’ grievances hold water, Ingwe players should desist from participating in strikes which could affect their football careers.
Players need to understand the difficult times affecting local clubs.
Claims that some AFC players were planning to throw away their league match against Bandari in Mombasa may as well be true given that they conceded two quick goals in the first 15 minutes. Leopards eventually lost 2-1 through back pass blunders.
This cannot be ignored in an era where match- fixing is rampant.
Two weeks Western Stima had a similar case of match-fixing, and the management threatened to sack all the players.
It is true, AFC players are owed salary arrears. The management has promised to pay the players’ January payments and part of the December arrears.
No gate earnings
Currently, there are no earnings from gate collections due to the strict Covid-19 containment measures that require league games to be played behind closed doors.
Ingwe fans expected the team to improve greatly after the management promised to give them houses if they win the league title this season.
More importantly, Ingwe management managed to pay players’ salaries during the Covid-19 break when they were not playing football at all.
The players must be told that they don’t play for the fans, but to capture scouts’ attention, more so, from football power house nations in the world.
They need to endure the tough economic times like other Kenyans whose jobs were affected by the pandemic.
AFC players must stop chest-thumping through social media and work hard.
Most of them earn Sh100,000 a month, their main target is winning AFC’s first league title after 22 years.
Through football, the likes of Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are very wealthy. Nothing stops our players from thinking big.
