Akwana: I could not continue coaching hungry Mathare players

Former Mathare United head coach Ezekiel Akwana has admitted that he opted to walk out of his boyhood club as he could not stand watching players suffer due to the team’s financial struggles.

Akwana, a former Mathare United player stepped down in January, four months into the job, and was replaced by former Harambee Stars coach John Kamau. His resignation came after months of off-pitch struggle that directly impacted the team’s on-pitch performance negatively.

OFFICIAL: Bandari handed a walkover as Mathare boycott league match

The situation has become so dire and last weekend the team, currently bottom in the log had to issue a walkover to Bandari, in a match that they were to host at their Kasarani Annex backyard. In an open letter, club owner and chairman Bob Munro explained that the situation had become so dire hence the decision to opt-out of the match, the team is likely to issue another walkover on Saturday afternoon as they have not traveled to Kericho for their game against Ulinzi Stars.

Akwana, whose departure from the club came as a shocker has explained that he had to leave due to the challenges that saw players really struggle.

“I experienced the grave challenges during my tenure as head coach and it reached a point I felt I had had enough and made the decision to quit,” he told the Star.

“I can tell you out of experience that the players were suffering. Most of the time they went to bed on an empty stomach. So, how would they have posted any meaningful results?" he posed.