Zoo FC mulls player availability for longer training sessions

Zoo Kericho are sweating over the availability of some of their key players and finances as they wait for their promotion to the 2017 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) to be ratified.

The Kericho-based team launched their training this week but Team Manager Ibrahim Muganda is concerned over some members of the squad who have not turned up for pre-season preparations due to work commitments.

“We’ll start off our preparations with the players who have already arrived and should we feel there is need to strengthen some areas then we will. We have enough players to take up the new challenge but they’ll need better preparation.

“Our biggest problem is we’ve had to train them for only two hours a day when other sides are doing twice as much. The challenge is our players have limited time to train because they have daily jobs to attend to. We’re hoping to get full sponsorship so we can pay them better and get their full commitment,” Muganda told Citizen Digital. 

Zoo finished third in last season’s National Super League and despite being named as one of the teams that will feature in the expanded top flight next season, officials are yet to make a formal declaration on the constitution of the 2017 KPL.

On Saturday, a joint subcommittee formed by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and KPL resolved the federation would fork out KSh36m in order to make happen their wish to have expand the top division up from 16 to 18 teams, a move that necessitated the promotion of Zoo and Nakumatt FC (fourth finishers at the second-tier league).

-Report by Bernard Rotich.