Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat during a past press conference in Nairobi.
Kenya could pay dearly for casual approach to contractual obligations between the country and the national football federation on one hand, and coaches of national football teams on the other.
Of particular concern are undisclosed contracts signed between the national football federation, and Harambee Stars coaches in the past, especially given that former officials of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) kept the deals secret.
Also of concern is FKF’s casual approach in dealing with coaches under contract, leading to wrongful dismissal which could attract heavy costs and penalties should the coach report Kenya to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as former Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche did in 2019, leading to an award of Sh108 million.
In 2019, CAS also ordered Kenya to pay coach Bobby Williamson Sh55 million for wrongful dismissal.
Defaulted payments attract penalties, which could be higher should the coach sue Kenya at CAS. Kenya owes at least three former coaches unpaid salary.
On September 19, 2021, FKF employed Engin Firat from Turkey as coach of Harambee Stars on a two-month contract. Upon expiry of the first contract, FKF extended his tenure early last year for three years until 2026. But FKF did not disclose details of the contract.
On December 11, Firat, 54, resigned. Speaking later the same day, newly-elected FKF President Hussein Mohamed confirmed that Firat had sent a notice of contract termination earlier in the week, citing unpaid salary.
“We got the notice of termination on Tuesday evening (December 10), and I was not privy to it before. We will do an internal audit, and the report will inform our next move,” Hussein said at the time.
Hussein said his team will initiate an internal audit on coach Firat’s salary arrears to know the exact amount he is owed for the 11 months he was not paid.
Speaking on September 12 after Kenya’s 2-1 victory over Namibia in the 2025 AAfrica Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers, Firat confirmed that he had not been paid for nine months, which now extends to 11 months.
Sources indicated to Nation Sport that Firat was on a monthly salary of between Sh1.5 million and Sh2 million, meaning that he is potentially owed between Sh16.5 million and Sh22 million before factoring in the interest accrued on unpaid salary.
Internationally, such contracts normally attract an interest of 10 percent for every year defaulted. Kenya has previously spent over Sh160 million in paying off former Harambee Stars coaches who left in different circumstances.
Firat’s case could end up like that of former coaches, Algerian-born Belgian Amrouche, and Scottish coach Williamson. Kenya also owes coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee unpaid salary.
In August 2021, Kenya paid Amrouche a whopping Sh108 million on the orders of the Switzerland-based CAS. Kenya made the payment at a time the country was on the brink of being banned from taking part in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Uganda and Rwanda.
Amrouche coached Kenya for a year before being fired in 2014. He followed up on his dues through the courts for six years.
Coach Williamson was awarded Sh55 million by the Employment and Labour Court for wrongful dismissal in October 2019 . The Scottish coach was fired from his role after Nick Mwendwa took over as FKF president in 2016, and was replaced by Stanley Okumbi.
Last month during FKF Presidential debate, coach Mulee, who took Kenya to 2004 Afcon in Tunisia, said FKF still owes him money.
“FKF still owes me money. As of today, I was claiming Sh2.8 million. Recently, they gave me Sh250,000, so there’s still more than Sh1 million remaining,” said Mulee.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen had indicated that the government would only shoulder Firat’s salary up till the month of June.
While speaking on NTV live sports show SportOn! last Monday, Murkomen cited a clause in Firat’s contract which stated that at the very least, he was required to guide Kenya to 2025 Afcon, which did not happen.
“We will pay him until June, but beyond that, FKF must bear the cost if they decide to retain him,” Murkomen said on December 9.
“The contract clearly states that failure to qualify for Afcon would lead to the coach’s exit,” added Murkomen. Firat took charge of 23 matches as Kenya’s coach. Murkomen has also indicated that his ministry will in future play greater role in hiring of national team coaches.
Since 2016, the Harambee Stars have been handled by seven different coaches; Firat, Mulee, Francis Kimanzi, Sebastien Migne, Paul Put, Stanley Okumbi, and Williamson.
This averages over one coach per year, a statistic that underscores the challenges plaguing Kenya’s football management.
