The Kenyan government on Thursday announced that 12 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) clubs are set to receive a small monthly stipend of 100 US dollars for the next two months with the possibility of an extension to three.
This is in an effort to cushion the most financially vulnerable clubs from the economic effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Kenyan sports cabinet secretary Amina Mohamed said government picked 12 clubs from the 18-team league to kick start the process which will be reviewed for any case of improvement.
“We are going to release Sh10,000 (100 US dollars) per month for 30 players and five technical officers,” Mohamed said.
“This will be a total of 420 beneficiaries. The stimulus package will be for the next two months with a possibility of extension of a third month should we be able to mobilize more funds from well-wishers and our partners.”
“We have agreed that we are starting with KPL because we know the difficulty they are going through. After verification, we have come up with a final list of those footballers suffering the most. We will begin with them and continue rolling out the program for the next 15 days while taking stock.”
The move will come as a huge relief for clubs especially those who do not have sponsors. While some clubs enjoy solid corporate sponsorship, a massive section of the top flight have community-based clubs who are struggling to raise money to pay salaries at a time when football has been stopped.
The KPL announced the cancellation of all leagues due to Covid-19 and this means there will be no football until at least August when the new season is scheduled to start.
Kenya have 1471 Covid-19 infections, with their highest daily new infection total recorded on Wednesday with 123 cases reported. There have been 55 Covid-19 deaths with 455 recoveries.
In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo
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