The flames haven’t died down in the brouhaha involving the Kenya National Olympic Committee (NOC-K) and the East African country’s athletics team in the Rio Games. In findings coming to light following investigations, laid bare a raft of issues that dogged Team Kenya. Allegations that Kenya Rio Team’s head of delegation Stephen Soi included his wife as part of traveling squad were found to be claims too good to be true. The probing team established that Soi’s wife in fact paid for her own air ticket, quashing reports her travel was arranged at government fund expense.
The committee touched on the case of team manager Micheal Rotich who, it emerged, solicited bribes from athletes so as to notify them of upcoming random out-of-competition samples. The shocking issues of bickering amongst Kenyan players over incentives forked out to them by President Kenyatta in Angola, was also captured in the final report.
Regarding the Nike kits recovered on the back of a raid into Kenya’s Chief de Mission’s residence, the document shed light on how athletes were given few kits than provided for by the American company. The controversy embroiling Kenya’s NOC looks far from over.
Another subject matter that got football-mad fans talking is the twist and turns on Godwin Obaje’s Spartak Moscow trial. The 21-year-old is top scorer of the Nigerian Professional League but his much publicized audition in Russia literally had journalism thrown to the gutters, beginning over the weekend.
When you expect the local press to know better about a precocious talent, tabloids in Nigeria actually went ballistics when a report, fuelled by a Russian sport paper, claimed, the Wikki Tourists forward has been waived and asked to look elsewhere by Spartak Moscow. Over ten papers in Abuja joined the frenzy without making an effort of verifying or seeking Wikki’s side of the story. And when the truth came out that Godwin in fact passed the trial and could sign a four-year deal by Thursday, only few local papers gulped down their articles.
Obaje’s contract signing is being delayed by ‘few things’ discovered in his body while undergoing the mandatory medical. Nigeria’s OwnGoal editor displayed a snapshot of his chat with the striker in which Godwin let out few details regarding his situation.
Back in Kenya, the East African nation’s Rugby players have called off their strike. The players were demanding to be paid their bonuses match-by-match, an amount of which could hit in the region of $200,000. The Kenyan government has stepped in volunteering to pay half the amount with the Rugby Federation to foot rest of the bill to enable the team focus on the World Series in Dubai.
Salifu Zida chairman of Bolga All Stars – a premier league side in Ghana –was left red-faced and did not hesitate to debunk media reports that he’d put his club up for sale to the highest bidder. He tells Soccernet Ghana that he’d never toyed the idea of selling. Bolga earned promotion to the Glo League having won Zone One of the GN Division One League the previous campaign.
Fast-rising Ghanaian net-minder Ofori Antwi’s future with Astante Kotoko is up in the balance. The goalkeeper’s stock is rapidly on the decline owing to his lack of games. Ofori has grown disillusioned over his lack of playing time owing to his feud with the club management. Antwi’s troubles began after he slapped a transfer request on the club chairman’s table last season. He is even believed to be owed two months of salary by his team as relationship between player and management gets fractious, according to reports in Ghana. For how long this will drag on, remains to be seen.
Soccerladuna and Kick Off gave front page treatment to Super Sport United’s forward Jeremy Brockie who accepted Orlando Pirates’ Thabo Matlaba apology after the latter got sent off for a ferocious challenge on Brockie causing him a serious ankle injury in the Telkom Knockout semis. Matlaba has since phoned Jeremy offering his apologies for the incident.
In Southern Africa, Zambia’s Super League title had a new winner after Caps United ended an 11-year wait for the gong. The Green Machine scooped the silverware after jettisoning off Chapungu 1-0 at the Ascot Stadium over the weekend to go two points ahead of second-placed Platinum FC. And for their exploits, the outfit is set to be handed lofty bonuses. The Harare-based club’s players are due to be given $500,000 as bonus, half the $100,000 prize money accorded to champions by the Zambia Football Federation.
Over to landlocked Malawi, the election of Chimango Munthali as National Youth Football Association unopposed, topped Malaw24’s back page.
Erwin Naimhwaka has vowed to see to it that underfunding becomes a thing of the past after being unanimously elected as Namibia Athletics President, reports the New Era.
Shifting to football, there is sense of trouble with Namibia Football Players’ Union- Namibian Football Association relationship all but tempestuous. NFPU is considering another legal action against the NFA after seeing their first case dismissed.
NFPU sued NFA regarding players’ outstanding salaries but the matter is thrown out of the window after Nicolas Mouers, who presided over the trial, slammed the players’ Union’s pursue of its case as “irregular” and “unprocedural”. The NFA are hoping this settles it between the two institutions. NFPU though are unwilling to let lying and are understood to be exploring other avenues of re-igniting their case.
In Gambia, newly elected Olympic House boss Dodou Capi Joof retained his seat as athletics president following an elective congress on Saturday. Joof swept the polls unopposed after no one chose to rival him for the hot-seat.
The ex- 100 and 200m Gambia national record holder first assumed the portfolio in 2011 when he vacated his Secretary General to throw his hat in the ring for the presidency after then chairman, Fredy Llody, stepped down before end of his term.
Featured Photo: Kenya’s David Rudisha at London 2012 ©Getty Images
