Coaches to now receive Ksh75,000 for monthly award

Winners of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Fidelity Coach of the Month Award will now pocket Ksh75,000 this season up from Ksh50,000 from last year.

Award sponsors Fidelity Insurance in conjunction with the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya announced an increment on Tuesday in the second year of the deal that was first penned at the beginning of last season.

Fidelity managing director Matthews Koech said the increment was to spur greater quality of the game in the local top flight whose start last weekend was suspended indefinitely following the tussle over its composition between Football Kenya Federation and KPL.

“We have added 50 percent to the sponsorship we had last year and we look forward to doing more for Kenyan football in the future,” he declared.

“As we appreciate the beautiful football which is being played in the pitch, there is a lot of work that goes on in the background preparing the footballers. The technical bench work day in day out in preparing the players for the 90 minutes they are on the pitch,” Koech added.

He noted that the success of last year’s Award scheme motivated them to continue partnering with the SJAK.

Koech also noted that Fidelity was planning to come up with a package that would see individual clubs compensated whenever their players suffered injuries that kept them out of the game.

The SJAK chairman, Chris Mbaisi, hailed the impact of sports journalists who had spearheaded the growth of local football and enhanced its brand locally and internationally.

“I am very pleased. Previously sports journalists were only there to witness but this time we are leading from the top. This has changed nowadays,” he charged.

Mbaisi urged the football governing bodies in the country to follow suit and support such initiatives that would definitely improve the level of coaching.

“I would like to appeal to the Football Kenya Federation to consider partnering in such projects .They are essential for the growth of coaching,” he urged.

The Coach of the Month Award package also sees winners take home a trophy with their name engraved on it with champions Tusker FC former boss Paul Nkata winning the last gong awarded in November after steering the Brewers to the league title.

Belgian Ivan Minnaert who was sacked by AFC Leopards in September was the first recipient of the award after a storming start to the season last February.

-Report by Mwangi Githinji