Isiolo football giants Olympic Pirates officially relegated
The team failed to honour three consecutive league matches due to lack of funds
Isiolo's Olympic Pirates FC has been relegated to Division Two after missing three matches in a row ostensibly due to financial constraints, exactly 15 months after it was promoted following a 2-1 win against Kenya Navy in Division 2 finals at Kambi Garba in November 2022.
The development has laid bare the challenges local clubs in the county which is home to a crop of talents continue to face and which discourage ambitious youths from taking sports as a career.
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Among the notable sporting talents from Isiolo include Harambee Stars striker Masoud Juma who has been playing for the national Harambee Stars team since 2017 and Mr Atoi Boru, the 1992 World Under 20 champion in 1500 metres, who is currently a coach.
The three matches that Olympic Pirates missed were against Young Bulls, Ruiru Hotstars and Malindi United and had been scheduled for December 16, 2023, January 28, 2024 and February 18 respectively.
The matches were to be held at Malindi High School, Imani grounds in Kiambu and Alaskan grounds in Malindi but the team could not secure funds to facilitate their transport to the venue.
The suspension was officially communicated by the Football Kenya Federation General Secretary Barry Otieno in a letter dated March 5.
"We note your team has to date failed to play three matches and also failed to provide any acceptable written explanation for the failure. Consequently, Olympic Pirates has been suspended from the 2023/24 Division One League and relegated to the 2024/25 Division Two," the letter addressed to the Club Chairperson read in part.
Olympic Pirates FC Captain Javia Moki told Eastleigh Voice that they missed the three matches due to lack of funds to take care of their transport to and from the venue.
Among the leaders they approached is Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo, Senator Fatuma Dullo and Isiolo North MP Joseph Samal, all who they claim did not offer them any support.
"It is very discouraging considering we worked so hard to be elevated to Division One. Majority of the players are disappointed because they were optimistic that while playing in Division One, they would have been scouted to play in Super League and even Premier League," he said.
Mr Moki said it was sad that despite going out of their way to grow their talents amid inadequate training facilities, local leaders hardly go to watch their home matches and friendlies mostly held at Isiolo Boys grounds.
Their biggest challenge, he said, is lack of sustainable funding to support the Club's operations, revealing that even paying centre referees during home games was a challenge, forcing them to rely on the Sh50 entrance fee for the fans.
"Many of the players are youth we picked from the streets and who now risk going back to drugs and substance abuse. We fear if we do not get sustained funding, the talents could go into waste and dreams of the players be shattered".
The delayed completion of the Sh346 million stadium whose construction started during former Governor Mohamed Kuti's regime is a let down to sportsmen and women, who have to dig deeper into their pockets to access quality facilities.
Terraces and a pavilion directly opposite the constructed one, laying of tartan track and pitch are among the remaining works at the stadium.
Mr Moki appealed to Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo to expedite completion of the stadium, which has currently stalled, and to introduce annual county tournaments to help nurture and scout for talents.
County Sports Chief Officer Mr Ganya Diba told Eastleigh Voice that the county government was committed to nurturing talent and that plans were underway to come up with a county football team with players from across the local football clubs.
"We are also committed to supporting individual teams based on available funds," he said.
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