Kenyan national women basketball team players cry out for help – VIDEO
The embarrassing state of Kenyan sports has again been highlighted after the national women basketball team players released a video via social media while on international duty complaining over the poor conditions they are being subjected to.
In the one-minute video, the 10 ladies, led by captain Hilda Indasi and Spain-based Mercy Wanyama – who is the younger sibling to Harambee Stars captain Victor – enumerate a long list complaints, including the delayed payment of their allowances.
While holding each other, perhaps in a show of solidarity, the players also complained about the government’s failure to facilitate the full squad to travel to Dakar, Senegal for the Afro-Basketball tournament.
Without mincing words, they also laid the blame squarely on the doorstep of the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF).
“We have experienced very poor standards. We have only been paid Sh10,000 so far for this assignment. We are being forced to play an international tournament with only 10 players (instead of 12) and one coach (instead of three) while being expected to perform at a high level which puts us at a great disadvantage,” Indasi says in the video.
This team, dubbed the Lionesses, have lost in their opening two matches at the tournament against Mozambique and Cape Verde and are scheduled to play Angola on Wednesday.
“We are asking the leadership of the women’s commission to push the federation and the government to release funds as per the budget that was sent immediately after we qualified for the AfroBasket in Uganda.
“We understand the budget was $50(about Sh5,000) per player per day with some more money from the federation. As we prepare for our next game against Angola, we would like a solution for this issue.”
The Kenyan law states that the government should support all national teams competing in international assignments.
But off late, the national men and women football teams, the athletics team, and Kenya women volleyball teams, and Paralympics team are among those that have complained about delayed payments and other challenges.