NAIROBI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan Premier League (KPL) will limp on with the 2019/20 season amid a financial crunch that threatens to halt the campaign as clubs struggle to honor their obligations.
Following its Governing Council meeting here on Thursday, the KPL said the 18-team competition would go on but clubs would be required to pay match officials starting this weekend.
"The decision was reached amidst calls to suspend the league while acknowledging that there is a financial crisis in the League and clubs after the withdrawal of its main sponsor," KPL CEO Jack Oguda said.
Earlier, six clubs requested to call off the 2019/20 season due to their inability to honor their obligations, and even threatened to walkovers if the league continues.
This is another ominous sign that the domestic top-flight is headed for turbulent times due to lack of sponsorship.
Sony Sugar, the two-time domestic champions even abandoned their game against 12-time winners AFC Leopards, citing their inability to pay for security and medical services in September.
Betting firm SportPesa, the KPL title sponsors withdrew their partnership after the government withdrew their operating license in July, costing the league some 6 million shillings (60,000 U.S. dollars) annually.
"We have approached various corporates. It takes time to formalize any sponsorship deal since most corporates operate on running budgets, which were already set in the beginning of their respective financial year," KPL said.
"We would like to formally plead with the government to step in and provide a short term financial solution to facilitate the smooth running of the League," it added.
The KPL, a 16-team competition in 2007, has dropped from one of the fastest growing leagues in Africa to the shell since 2017 when South African pay television channel SuperSport terminated its deal that would inject some six million dollars per year.
And all these are due to the expansion plan by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in 2015. Under Sam Nyamweya, the FKF proposed two teams from the second tier to be included in the line-up for the 2016 campaign.
After its proposal was rebutted, FKF established a parallel Premier League but failed to win the support of leading clubs and SuperSport.
Nick Mwendwa was elected to the FKF presidency in February 2017 and promised to add two more teams to the KPL. Only two months later, SuperSport announced their exit citing breach of contract in expanding the competition.
With money promised to clubs by FKF not forthcoming, teams with shoestring budgets started to struggle.
In 2018, SportPesa came in with a three-year sponsorship deal, but players strike for non-payment of salaries and bonuses.
