Nairobi News

Harambee Stars player will each receive Sh100,000 as winning bonus, if the team beats Sierra Leone on Sunday.

The two teams will lock horns in Freetown, in the opening fixture of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches.

Lead striker Jesse Were however misses out on the travelling party owing to an injury he sustained in training on Tuesday evening.

The winning bonus is part of a new partnership between Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and giant gaming firm SportPesa, which was unveiled at the team’s camp in Machakos on Wednesday.

“This is a welcome development and one that will motivate us to produce the results. Even at my club we are rewarded handsomely for winning matches. Money is not everything but it is important,” the team’s vice-captain David ‘Calabar’ Owino, who plies his trade for top Zambian side Zesco United said.

MEAGER ALLOWANCE

The news comes in the wake of social media debate on the meager camping allowance that the national team are supposedly entitled to.

FKF’s media officer Barry Otieno has however justified the rates for the players’ allowances.

“It is important to note that in the past sport persons, footballers included, were paid a local allowance of Sh500 which was revised to the current Sh750 following recommendations from the Salaries and Remunerations Commission (SRC),” Mr Otieno said.

“Further it is important to note that of the Sh750 paid to players by the government, FKF tops up an additional Sh750 which brings the daily local allowance to Sh1,500 plus the USD50 (Sh5,000) paid for foreign trips,” he added.

Stars will commence a 12-hour journey to Sierra Leone, via Ghana on Thursday morning.

The Squad – Goalkeepers: Boniface Oluoch, Patrick Matasi, Defenders: Eric Ouma, David Owino, David Ochieng, Brian Mandela, Simon Mbugua, Joseph Mbugua, Musa Mohammed, Midfielders: Boniface Muchiri, Victor Wanyama, Anthony Akumu, Ayub Timbe, Ernest Wendo, Jackson Macharia, Stephen Waruru Strikers: Masoud Juma, Micheal Olunga, Samuel Onyango