Kenyan clubs have been blamed for poor scouting that has seen them sign players of no value who end up biting them hard.
Foreign players have landed Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards in trouble in recent years over cases of breach of contract that have seen the two clubs handed heavy sanctions.
Gor were last month kicked out of the CAF Champions League for delaying to pay dues, totaling over Ksh7 million, owed ex-players Sando Yangayay, Adama Keita and Jules Ulimwengu, while Leopards suffered a two-window transfer ban last year due to money owed to former defender Soter Kayumba.
K’Ogalo also served a transfer ban in 2021 for not clearing money owned to former players Shafiq Batambuze and Dickson Ambundo as well as ex-coach Steve Polack.
In these cases, breach of contract was cited by the aggrieved parties who demanded pending signing-on fees and salaries while other lodged complaints at FIFA for having their contracts terminated arbitrarily.
According to Kenyan football agent Augustine Ramaitah of Shujaa Sports Management, all these cases were, and are, avoidable if the clubs got their scouting right.
“Whoever is in charge of scouting at these clubs do not bring players who add value to the squads. They end up terminating contracts prematurely and any foreigner if you do this, they run to FIFA,” Ramaitah told Pulse Sports.
“Back in the day, these big teams used to do good. We had foreigners who came to the country and added value but of late, there are a lot of terminations which means the scouting department is failing.”
Looking at the three players who got Gor Mahia in trouble last month, K’Ogalo did not get value for money yet they were are still required to fork out more to settle their dues.
Malian goalkeeper Keita is the one that messed Gor Mahia’s CAF Champions League plans for next season when he insisted the club had not cleared his dues, leading to the revocation of K’Ogalo’s Club License.
Keita, who joined K’Ogalo in August 2021 on a two-year contract, had been frozen out by the club owing to inconsistent performances before being eventually axed last July, and he lodged his case to FIFA citing breach of contract and was owed Ksh4.3 million.
Burundian forward Ulinwengu took Gor Mahia to FIFA for not being paid his full dues between July 2021 and August 22, 2022, demanding Ksh1.1 million, having joined the club in 2020 and scoring 10 goals in two seasons, while Yangayay sought CAF’s intervention for being owed Ksh2.27 million.
Gor signed the Congolese striker on a one-year deal in 2020, handing him a hefty wage. To make matters worse, the ex FC Lupopo forward had been without a club for two years before joining Gor.
He failed to impress, scoring one goal, and ultimately lost his place in the team before Gor cut their losses.
“The pool of foreigners is so big, we should not be signing players who have not played for one or two years to a club here,” adds Ramaitah.
“A smart administrator will sit down with the player and terminate the contract mutually but if you just wake and say I don’t need you, here is your release letter, the foreigner will say thank you so much, keep quiet for four to five months and lodge his case with FIFA.
“FIFA protects players a lot and if they see whoever has terminated the contract is the one on the wrong, they will definitely punish you. One of the punishments is that you pay the remainder of contract plus interest.”
Another issue that has been cited for Kenyan clubs’ appetite for foreign players is that there are vested interests where a few individuals engineer the deals in exchange for a quick buck, leaving the club paying big money to players of no value.
However, Ramaitah feels while there could be some truth in it, those running the clubs must do their due diligence.
“That is touching on people’s integrity but when foreigners come, definitely they ask more than what locals ask for. A big signing-on fee, salary and a house. However, even if a third-party gives you a player, you have to do a lot of background check on where he’s played, his injury history before you decide to sign,” he said.
To protect Kenyan clubs from getting their fingers burnt, Ramaitah is recommending a clause that would demand any foreigner who signs in the country to have turned out for their national team.
