EDITORIAL: Release football cash early

Kenya will play in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals to be hosted by Egypt from June 21 to July 19 across five venues.

But preparations for the biennial continental football tournament could be affected by the government’s delay in releasing the required funds and poor working relationships between Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and government.

Last week, the Ministry of Sports announced it had wired Sh244 million to the federation’s bank account to facilitate the preparation of Harambee Stars for Egypt, which FKF officials promptly denied.

The federation said it had received neither money nor documentation proving that funds were wired to its bank account.

This back-and-forth between the ministry and FKF is not healthy for the team and implies that somebody is playing games with money meant to fund preparations for Africa’s premier national team football competition.

Part of the funds will be channelled towards paying players bonuses for qualifying for this championship, a feat they achieved for the first time in more than a decade. Another chunk will be used to fund the team’s three-week training camp in France next month.

The earlier the money is wired to FKF’s account the sooner the federation can make advance plans — including booking of the training venue in France and purchasing air tickets for foreign-based players who need to link up with the rest of the team.

Kenya will know their opponents when the draw for the tournament is done in Cairo on Friday. Our hope is that the government and FKF will work together to enable Harambee Stars, and indeed all other national teams, to get all the necessary support when representing the country in international engagements.

Falling behind schedule is a precursor to poor performance.