NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct – Sugar belt sides Sony and Chemelil are on the brink of dishing out walk overs for this weekend’s Kenyan Premier League (KPL) matches due to the current financial crisis witnessed in the country’s top-flight league.
While Sony have categorically stated they will not travel to Machakos for their early Saturday morning tie against Tusker FC, Chemelil are yet to leave their base in Awasi for Mombasa where they will take on Bandari FC in a 3pm kick off.
“We cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend everything is okay. We just simply requested for our fixtures to be shelved as we look for a sponsor but they could not listen to us. The truth of the matter is that we don’t have money and we will not travel to Machakos,” Sony chairman Gabriel Otieno told Capital Sport.
Sony players have also not trained since handing AFC Leopards walkover a fortnight ago with head coach James Nandwa still in Nairobi.
“We cannot train and we are unable to honor matches. We will not be able to play until we are financially able to do so. At this moment, we don’t have money,” the chairman further stated.
Sony gave AFC Leopards a walkover in Awendo two weeks ago and it is highly doubtful they will honor their away trip to face Tusker in Machakos.
-Relegated to NSL
According to KPL rules, if they hand out a third walkover, they will be relegated to the National Super League, with Otiende stating they are not afraid of the axe.
Chemelil meanwhile are yet to leave their base in Awasi, as at 4pm Friday evening to Mombasa, a distance of 784km which might take up to a maximum of 12-13 hours.
“The company boss was not around and has just returned. We are waiting to hear whether or not finances will be availed for us to travelled. Everyone is on standby if all goes well we might travel at night,” a source at the club told Capital Sport.
If Chemelil travel on Friday night, they will arrive in Mombasa on Saturday morning and will have only a few hours to rest and recover from the long journey before facing the on-form Bandari.
Chemelil sit bottom of the KPL having lost all their opening four games, shipping in 13 goals and scoring only once. Sony on the other end are 16th having won only once, lost thrice and handed out one walkover.