Kenya Lionesses woes deepen as Olympic repechage looms
Reading Time: 4min | Wed. 24.04.24. | 09:18
The Kenyan rugby girls have gone without salaries for eight months
The Kenya Lionesses will compete in the World Rugby 7s tournament at the Stade Louis II in Monaco from June 21–23, less than a month from today. This competition will determine whether they will advance to the HSBC World Rugby 7s Series.
However, as they gear up for the gritty tournament, one thing is dragging their efforts - unpaid dues.
Sadly, the ladies who fly the country's flag high in different national and international events have gone a record eight months without salaries.
The ladies cannot make ends meet and most are pondering on whether to quit the beloved sport and look for alternative sources of income or keep playing with the hope that they will be paid eventually.
Their woes go beyond the payment. Often, the ladies must train without basic meals such as breakfast and lunch because their suppliers have not received payment.
This caught the attention of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K), which is likely to host the team in Kasarani for a 10-day camp to ensure optimal training and shield from the challenges.
What is even more heartbreaking is that the technical bench, including the coaches, have had to contribute their resources to feed the team during unbearable times. It is worth noting that the technical staff is also claiming their unpaid dues.
Mozzart Sport also learned that some players who were part of the promising young squad that competed in the Safari 7s tournament have been forced to drop out of the camp due to a lack of money to attend training sessions. They also decry unpaid dues for the 2023 Safari 7s tournament. Kenya fielded two Lionesses' teams during the tournament - the Lionesses and Cubs. The tournament happened from November 17–19.
Most of the players we spoke to sought anonymity out of fear of victimization. They explained that the union was contemplating shortening their training session due to current affairs. They train from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., but they are likely to be training for just 1-2 hours despite the challenge that lies ahead.
“It has been tough. Sometimes, the coaches have had to step up to buy us food. The union says they’re broke, and there has been talk of shortening our sessions," one of the players said,
However, the hope that they will qualify for the Olympics and have the opportunity to showcase their skills on a larger stage, potentially leading to professional contracts from different countries, keeps them going.
“We are pushing on because of the Challenger Series and Olympic qualification. We’re giving it our all, but we feel disappointed. We are heartbroken," another lioness said.
Speaking a week ago, Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Chairman Sasha Mutai blamed the dire situation on the lack of sponsors. According to Mutai, he inherited a debt-ridden situation when he took office, which presented serious difficulties. He noted that ever since he'd been trying his hardest to make things right, insisting the lack of sponsors for the Lionesses made everything even worse.
“The Lionesses do not have sponsors. I will agree that it is not an ideal situation but I would like to correct it in terms of the numbers. We are six months behind on some players and three months behind on others,” he started. He continued: “When I came into office, we encountered eight months of arrears. However, we are now treating the Shujaa and Lionesses equally for the first time."
At the same time, the chairman publicly noted that these were trying times for the union due to what he termed 'political infighting.'
“We are in talks with different sponsors to come in to help with sponsoring and insurance. Nobody wants to put in money where there is political infighting,” he averred.
Having finished fifth in the Montevideo series, the Lionesses will travel to Poland next month for the last edition, which will determine if they earn a promotion to HSBC but first, they have to finish in the in the top four.
However, for obvious reasons, the players are not in the right state of mind at the moment, and there's a need for relevant authorities to move quickly to solve the impasse.
