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{
    "id": 82399,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/82399/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 222,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Eng. Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, while I thank the Assistant Minister for the statement, you realize that the he has done nothing, other than to tell us the things we hear about all the time. Soccer, as it is today, is not just a sport. Soccer is a passion. In fact, there are countries in this world where soccer is equated almost to a religion and Kenya is no different. The Assistant Minister knows that every time Harambee Stars loses, hundreds of thousands of Kenyans suffer heartbreaks of hefty proportions. What the country is asking of you is fearless action and resoluteness. Please, it is not time for mere words. It is disheartening to hear the Assistant Minister come here and all he is doing is lamenting about the possible actions FIFA can take. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we know that the problem in football in Kenya actually starts with FIFA itself. FIFA, as it is known the world over, likes to deal with spineless organizations like the FKL, because they are useful as voting machines every time the officials of FIFA want to extend their stay in office. It is time that, as a country we called FIFA’s bluff. Other countries have done it. The Assistant Minister knows that when Uganda was facing the same problems, they survived only by kicking out the officials. FIFA gave them a two-year ban but they came back a much stronger football nation. Today, as we speak, Uganda is the best placed soccer nation in East and Central Africa. The first clarification from the Assistant Minister is this: When will he call FIFAs’ bluff by disbanding both the KFF and the Football Kenya Limited, which have done nothing but cause Kenyans endless heartache? Secondly, you heard the Assistant Minister confirm that the FKL is a private company. Could he clarify to the nation on what basis then is the Government giving public funds to the FKL, a private company, to manage soccer on behalf of the Kenyan public? My last clarification is this: Although the Assistant Minister says that the appointment of coaches is not part of the problem of Harambee Stars, I want to submit that in the last 10 years the appointment of coaches in Kenya has been an absolute circus. In the last 10 years, this country has had 16 football coaches starting with James Siang’a, Reinhardt Fabisch, Kadenge, Mulei, Twahir Muhidin, Mohammed Kheri, Mulei, Mulama, Mulei, Olaba, Mulei, Francis Kimanzi, Ogola, Hey, Muhidin and finally Mulei. This amounts to an average of a coach every eight months. How can you keep changing coaches at such a rate and expect to achieve anything in football? It is not possible! The Assistant Minister knows that one of the demoralizing factors is the relatively low wages we pay local coaches compared to foreign coaches. Jacob “Ghost” Mulei was the predecessor and successor of Bernard Lama. Could the Assistant Minister explain to the country, using those two examples, the disparity in payment of local and foreign coaches, and tell the nation if it is not a factor for the low standards of football?"
}