Amrouche: My pain chasing for dues with FKF

Mike Okinyi

Former Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche has lifted the lid on his six years chase for his dues after he was fired by Football Kenya Federation in 2014.

Amrouche’s troubles started when he was slapped with a 12 months suspension for allegedly spitting on a match official when Kenya locked horns with Comoros away in Moroni in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Though he later won the case at CAF, he missed the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Lesotho in 2014 in which Kenya lost 1-0 on aggregate. After the 0-0 draw at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, Sam Nyamweya, then the president of FKF fired him barely six months into his improved contract of five years.

By the time of his sacking he was on a contract worth Sh2.5 million monthly.

“They (FKF leadership) don’t talk to me. They locked the house, took the car and did not give me return ticket to my home. I felt let down by the FKF”, said Amrouche.

Amrouche who pulled off a famous 1-1 draw against Nigeria away in Calabar in his first match at the helm of Harambee Stars was out of work for three years as he fought to get compensation from FKF.

He says he was in Kenya on three occasions after Nick Mwendwa had taken over at FKF in 2016 but never got audience.

“Nobody wanted to give me only five minutes to talk about this story. Sometime when you respect people and they don’t respect you back, then you don’t respect them also. So I said ‘No’ despite always having this love for Kenya,” said the coach.

Before heading to FIFA to lodge his complaint for wrongful dismissal, Adel claims he offered solutions to FKF, including getting his job back.

However, at the time, FKF president Nick Mwendwa said they could not offer Amrouche his job back because the coach did not want to withdraw the case at FIFA. This was FKF’s condition before they could allow Amrouche back. But the coach hit back saying there is another reason holding back Nick Mwendwa.

“The reason is he cannot control Coach Adel. That’s the reason. He can’t dictate to me and tell me choose this player. No! With me he can never control me because he knows my personality. He always took people that he can make a deal with them, but with me, I know only the field,” added Amrouche.

When FIFA ordered FKF to pay Amrouche Ksh.60 million, FKF lodged an appeal at the international Court of Arbitration for Sport(CAS) and lost, and were then slapped with a bill of Kshs110 million. FIFA has now issued an April 30th deadline for FKF to furnish the world football governing body with proof of payment to coach Amrouche. The coach says he does not want Kenyan football to suffer because of the mistakes of individuals. He claims to have offered yet another solution to FKF president Nick Mwendwa.

“Two years ago, I told him because he claims to love Kenya football, I’m willing to forget all the money if he resigns as the president of FKF. But of course he declined saying I don’t know Kenya football. All this matter would be done by now because again in Lausanne (during the case at CAS) I met Nick. Before we went in I told him all I want is my money (Kshs.60 million without interest) and to pay me in bits. He said yes, only to change his mind when we got inside,”claims the coach.

Adel who is now the coach of the Botswana national football team says if only FKF listened to him from the onset, they would have saved a lot of money that they used to pay three top lawyers from Europe, business class tickets to fly to the case hearing and appeals fees and the legal fees paid to FIFA.

“What they spent in all this is enough to pay my whole team two times of what was due to me in the first place. Sometimes this world makes me go crazy with the people at FKF,” he concluded.

Adel says his case against Libya FA for wrongful dismissal was solved amicably in one month despite FKF allegedly trying to convince Libya FA to join the case against Amrouche at CAF.