FKF Boss on How Harambee Stars are Benefiting from President Ruto Besides Multi-Million Bonuses

Amid the excitement that has greeted President William Ruto’s decision to reward Harambee Stars players millions for their success at CHAN 2024, it has emerged that there is much more the players are getting.

President Ruto has so far handed Ksh5 million to each player for their three wins and a draw at the group stage and there is more he has promised besides them affordable housing units if they make it to the semi-final.

Football Kenya Federation president Hussein Mohammed says there are many other things the Head of State has pledged not just for this tournament but in their other spheres of lives and careers that have not been made public, expressing his delight at how the support is pushing the team to succeed.

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“You can’t explain the motivation and inspiration you see in their eyes. He knows them by name now, there is a friendship that has been built between the players and the President,” Mohammed said on NTV.

“It is an amazing thing to see the way they are motivated and the opening line when he walks into that room is; ‘cheza kama nyinyi, mimi sasa nitacheza kama mimi’ and he keeps the promise.

“That connection has become stronger, the bond is there you can see and feel it, even when he visits them at training or hotel. He has seen them several times even without the cameras. He spends time with those boys and they discuss many things other than football.

“That is how the houses came up. There are other things as well you might not be aware of that they are gaining in their personal lives courtesy of the President.”

Harambee Stars players have also admitted how the impact of the President’s reward has hugely motivated them as they have recorded wins against DR Congo, Morocco and Zambia while drawing with Angola to finish top of their group when few had given them a chance of advancing.

So far, President Ruto has also yielded to a plea from captain Aboud Omar to have his team-mate Boniface Muchiri given promotion in the military, agreed to goalkeeper Farouk Shikalo’s request to hand each player a unit of the affordable houses, while he promised Austin Odhiambo that the Baba Dogo grounds, which has nurtured many talents, will not be grabbed by private developers.