FKF presidential aspirant Mwachiro lauds Fifa for Covid-19 funds approval

Football Kenya Federation presidential aspirant Herbert Mwachiro has lauded the efforts of the football world governing body FIFA for approving Covid-19 funds that will be disbursed to federations around the world.

Mwachiro says the move is very timely and it’s a shot in the arm for many federations whose footballers, match officials, coaches and other technical officials have been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with most of them losing their revenue streams and sponsors pulling out or temporarily halting their sponsorship.

This has put the above vulnerable sportsmen and women in a very difficult position as they are among the hardest hit by the pandemic. Problems in relation to hunger, health and housing are affecting this class of sportspersons.

“They are already in debt over the past 3 months and the need to be alleviated is even more urgent. The opportunity to access the interest free loan could also be looked into to help ease the burden on the hard-hit football community,” Mwachiro said.

The FIFA Council has approved Covid-19 relief funds for all member associations and the FKF will be entitled Sh100 million Universal Solidarity Grant and a further Sh50 million for Women Football Support.

These funds are expected to be disbursed to member associations in phases; the first tranche being Sh50 million in July and a similar amount in January.

To ensure effective oversight, FIFA has devised strict controls for the use of the funds and they shall undergo the same FIFA stringent audit process.

The Government through the Ministry of Sports earlier on set up Covid-19 Relief Fund Support for athletes from different sports disciplines who are adversely affected by the pandemic.