Coach Shedu opens up on the injury nightmare that has turned his life upside down

Former Harambee Stars and Bandari FC head coach Rishad Shedu is appealing to well-wishers, stakeholders, and Football Kenya Federation to help him raise funds to enable him to undergo an ankle operation in India.

Shedu suffered a horrendous ankle injury while at Bandari in 2016, a development that completely changed his life, forcing him to down his tools of trade.

His campaign to raise the Sh 2 million needed for the procedure has not yielded much and he’s now calling on the football stakeholders to come to his aid.

“I remember the day very well. We were in a routine training and the pitch looked OK. Little did I know that there was a ditch in the field.I accidentally fell and broke my leg,” Shedu said, recalling the event that seemed harmless but has now turned out to be a pain not just to himself but the family too.

He said: “Since March 2016, I have been at home but the condition is deteriorating because walking and even standing is a problem.”

In a separate interview with Citizen Digital, Kenya Football Coaches Association (KEFOCA) chairman Ricky Solomon said that a series of fund- raising activities including beach football tournament have been organized by friends to assist in meeting the medical costs. The major fundraiser will be held at a city hotel next month.

“As soccer stakeholders and friends of Shedu we have organized a grand fund raiser on March 7, 2018, at Hotel 680 as well as Kanamai Beach Soccer Easter Tournament at Kanamai Beach from March 30 to April 2,” Solomon said.

At the same time, FKF’s head of communications Barry Otieno said that the federation is aware of Shedu’s case and will accord him the necessary support.

“As a federation, we are trying to come up with long-term solutions for both players and coaches. As you are aware we contributed to the medical kitty of former international Peter Dawo… we shall be looking for ways of coming up with insurance policies that will be helpful to our footballers in future,” he said.