National Super League (NSL) side Kisumu All Stars are on the brink of collapse due to financial challenges.
The Kisumu County sponsored club is currently ninth on the NSL standings with 9 points with fears that their rivals in the race could get a walk over due to the team’s inability to foot travelling costs and players allowances.
Out of the six matches played, they have won two, drawn three and lost one.
The team’s hard fought effort to remain in the league may go to waste as it may fail to honour its upcoming matches due to lack of funds.
If a club fails to honour three matches in a season, Football Kenya Federation’s competition rules dictate that the team has to be relegated.
The club’s Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Ochieng said the team has not received any financial support since September making it difficult to honour matches.
“The team has given its best even without payment with a target of getting promotion this season but this cannot be achieved if they skip matches,” he said.
Over the weekend, he said the team’s technical bench contributed Sh. 30, 000 to help the team travel to Mombasa for a match with Mombasa Elites which ended in a barren draw.
The money, he added, was not enough to cater for the team’s expenses prompting him to send a plea to fans and well-wishers on social media to facilitate the match.
The matter, he added, has demoralized the players calling on well-wishers and corporates to partner with the team to realize the dream of playing in the Kenya Premier League (KPL) next season.
Players who reside in Kisumu, he said, have been forced to accommodate their colleagues to keep the camp intact as they prepare for forthcoming matches.
According to Ochieng’, the County Government of Kisumu supports the team with Sh. 5 million per season but the funds have not been forthcoming since the season began.
“We have had meetings with them to see how the team can be supported to honour the matches lined up. We are also hoping to find well-wishers to support the team,” he said.
Kisumu County Executive Committee Member in charge of Sports Beatrice Odongo said the county government had not closed ranks with the team.
Odongo said the delay in facilitating the team was occasioned by the delay in disbursement of funds from the national treasury.
“We are waiting for the disbursement from the national Treasury to see how best we can support the team,” she said.
Kisumu All Stars was formed in December 2017 by the County Government of Kisumu to replace the disbanded Palos FC who withdrew from the second tier league citing financial challenges.
By Benedict Odhiambo and Gabriel Odhiambo
