AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda disclosed that he was once forced to lie in order to make it possible for Ingwe to honor an away match during the start of his tenure.
In an exclusive interview with Chiko Lawi, the host of The Funny, Real and Raw Football Show, Shikanda revealed that at the time he took over the management of AFC Leopards, there was no money to run the club since the sponsor had terminated the contract that was in place.
According to the club boss, putting the house in order for the team to go out and play was not easy. Players were looking at him for their basics including school fees, food and house rent and the club had no money.
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The former Gor Mahia player narrated to Lawi how he was forced to lie to prevent the twelve-time Kenya Premier League winners from forfeiting a match.
“You’re going for a league match in Kisumu. When I came to town to flag off the team at 6 am, I had 3,000 shillings. Breakfast alone was 12,000 shillings.,”
“I had to go and lie, “You know I have forgotten my ATM card at home. I was supposed to pay this, so let the team go, I’m coming to pay”,” stated Shikanda.
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He added that raising Ksh10,000 to pay for the training ground was sometimes not possible.
“I can tell you last season was pretty good, but the other two seasons were chaotic. I almost ran away, but I thank God I was resilient enough, to try and build something. I came in telling myself if I don’t do it, who will do it? My budget was 100 million shillings, the only actual money in that was 60 million,"
"The 40 million was supposed to come from where? God knows. So, now the 60 million is gone. The team is in Mumias for pre-season. I knocked on all the doors including State House, just so the team would not crush on my hands. It reached a time when even my members in the national executive committee took off,” Shikanda disclosed.
The veteran football manager, who was recently re-elected, cited the lack of investments as the main challenge affecting Kenyan clubs.
He divulged that even clubs such as Gor Mahia and Tusker FC which people perceived to be well-off, had zero investments.
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