Kenya struggling to bankroll CECAFA

By Swalley Kenyi

WITH slightly a month left to the 2013 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup kick-off, organisers are still uncertain about the source of funding.

The CECAFA leadership had heavily relied on the Kenyan Government for funds but Kenya’s cabinet secretary in charge of Sports and Culture Hassan Wario has revealed that the regime has no money to bankroll the annual competition.

Wario argued that the event requires a lot of money and yet the ministry did not budget for it. He urged Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to look for funding from corporate companies which have supported disciplines like athletics and rugby.

“The government has no money, let’s be honest. The government has no money to sponsor such an event. What we have in our coffers can’t work. We should find other alternative ways for supporting CECAFA,” Wario said.

But he tipped FKF saying that, “I think the way forward is finding alternative money from the private sector which has been very generous. I don’t think we can carry this heavy load alone. We have to bring everyone on board.”

CECAFA requires approximately Ksh60m (about sh1.8bn) to stage the Challenge Cup in Kenya between November 27 and December 13.

When contacted, CECAFA secretary general Nicholas Musonye said he was not aware of the development and insisted that the event will stay in Kenya despite the financial difficulties.

If Kenya fails to host the championship, it will not be strange. In 2009, CECAFA was forced to move the second edition of the U-17 tournament to Sudan after Kenya could not fund it.

Uganda are the regional defending champions. Zambia and Malawi were invited as guest teams.