We can’t just wish match-fixing away

Reading Kelong Kings: Confessions of the world’s most prolific match-fixers by Wilson Raj Peruma is a very demoraliing experience for a Kenyan who has even a little strip of patriotism and a sense of shame.

Peruma speaks about Kenya in a backhand manner; in a way, he assumes us and only mentions us in passing! Some fait accompli, something he is sure to nail in the cheapest manner possible.

Wilson Raj Perumal is the Singaporean match-fixer par excellence. He is an international brand, the “most admired” fixer in his retrogressive trade and he has served time for this fame.  

He has also authored a book about his exploits and about Kenya.

Heading towards the 2010 South Africa Fifa World Cup qualifiers, the Super Eagles of Nigeria were not a very comfortable outfit.

Consecutive draws against their main Group “B” challengers, Tunisia, and a slim 1-0 win over Mozambique at home did not inspire confidence.

This left the Super Eagles needing not only to win in Kenya, but also for the Carthage Eagles to draw or lose in Maputo for them to qualify for the first World Cup staged on African soil.

This was the kind of situation where Perumal could cash in and he calmly assured the Nigerian officials that he would deliver a win in Nairobi because, in his own words, he had three players in the Kenyan team.

He also took a trip to Maputo where he promised the Mozambicans “something” should they hold Tunisia.

Things went well for him and his stooges in the Kenyan team sold the country to an annoying 3-2 loss which we were foolish enough to cheer our team for! In Maputo, the Tunisians had a rough time as Mozambique edged them out 1-0.

What amounts changed hands for the game in Kenya? You may guess millions, but you will be a day dreamer.

The three Kenyan traitors got only Sh70,000 each! That is just how cheap a Kenyan player can get to risk his whole career!

This is just a tip of the iceberg. In 1999, Mumias Sugar, which needed a 7-0 win to win the league title beat Kisumu All Stars 10-0 .

The team was banned for match-fixing. In February 2020, Fifa banned four Kenyan players – one for life – over an “international conspiracy” to fix league matches.

Five Kenyan referees were later suspended over the same scandal.

Football Kenya Federation said one player from reigning league champions Tusker was among those suspended as the matter is being investigated.

This sounds like fiction but it is happening in Kenya. When we have poorly paid players, or if teams like FC Talanta fail to pay their players for long, we make work easier for match fixers!

When we don’t punish teams that don’t pay players, or if we ignore licensing of Kenyan Premier League teams, we encourage match-fixing.

This casts a long shadow on the integrity of the league.

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