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Nyamweya promises to pay Olunga’s varsity fees


Harambee Stars striker Michael Olunga needs not worry about how is college tuition fees will be settled henceforth.

This follows a declaration by Football Kenya Federation President Sam Nyamweya to the effect that he will meet those expenses in full.

This message was contained in a congratulatory statement sent to newsrooms moments after Kenya beat Mauritius away in the preliminary phase of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

“The President of the federation has pledged to take up the responsibility of paying university fees to striker Micheal Olunga who put up a man of the match performance in leading the attack,” a statement on the federation’s website stated.

Olunga, who currently plays for Kenyan Premier league champions Gor Mahia, is increasingly becoming the country’s most popular player, brand and poster boy since exploding onto the highest stage of local football at the start of this season.

The 21 year-old striker is a second year Geospatial Engineering student at the Technical University of Kenya. His annual tuition fees is estimated to be Sh 300,000.

Interestingly, this declaration by FKF comes amid several well documented financial challenges dogging the body.

FKF has struggled to pay its staff and technical bench salaries for a long time. In the past month, the federation also requested all its foreign based players to pay for their own airfare to honour international engagements against Zambia and Mauritius.

Michael Olunga, Johanna Omollo, Harun Shakava and Ayub Timbe scored for Kenya against Mauritius on Wednesday, a result that virtually seals qualification to the second round of the competition for Bobby Williamson’s charges, where the Cape Verde Islands lie in wait.