Kenya Footballers Welfare Association (Kefwa) has welcomed the move by world football governing body, Fifa, to provide income support to players whose clubs fail to pay their dues.
The fund, which is aimed at improving the livelihood of players, was launched on Tuesday by the Federation International of Football Professionals (Fifpro) and Fifa.
The Sh1.6 billion ($16 million) fund agreed by Fifpro and Fifa, will offer income support worth $11 million over the next three years, with the rest set aside for retroactive protection from July 2015 and June 2020.
Kefwa Chairman James Situma termed the move by world football administrators a big win for local based players with most of them having lost hope of ever receiving salary arrears from their former clubs.
“As a country we are in a worse situation, we receive a lot of complaints from players about unpaid salaries. The action by Fifpro and Fifa is welcome because it brings some hope that eventually the players will be paid their salary arrears,” Situma told Nation Sport on Tuesday.
According to Fifpro president Philippe Piat, more than 50 clubs in 20 countries have shut down in the last five years, plunging hundreds of footballers into uncertainty and hardship.
“This fund will provide valuable support to those players and families most in need,” said Piat while reiterating Fifa’s commitment to ensure clubs do not go under with players’ wages.
“Many of these clubs have shut to avoid paying outstanding wages, immediately re-forming as so-called new clubs.
“Fifpro has long campaigned against this unscrupulous practice and thanks Fifa for combating it in its Disciplinary Code,” said Piat in a Fifa statement.
Meanwhile, Kenya will host the Fifpro Division Africa Conference in Nairobi on March 14. The workshop is aimed at empowering administrators from the members unions in Africa.
“It is our hope that the participants who will attend will leave with increased capability to aid their implementation,” said Kefwa Secretary General Jerry Santos.
The 11 member unions include South Africa, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe, Morocco, Gabon, Botswana, Zambia and hosts Kenya.
Additional reporting by AFP.
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