A 52-year-old Kenyan football club has been folded as the country’s football suffocates from the effects of a financial constraints that have hit the industry.
Chemelil Sugar, the 1995 Provincial League champions are no more. The club was officially folded this week after the management failed to find a solution to their financial woes.
This, perhaps is the worst news for the millers who suffered relegation from the Kenyan Premier League just last season.
“The management has reluctantly and painfully taken an abrupt decision not to participate any more in whatever levels of Kenyan football Premier League under the prevailing circumstances factored by leasing programme of the sugar milling factories until further notice” read part of the communication sent out to players.
Chemelil FC was sponsored by the Chemelil Sugar factory, a milling company located about 230km west of Nairobi.
They now join the growing list of the sugar milling company-sponsored clubs in Kenya that have been disbanded or gone down to the grass due to insufficient funding.
Muhoroni Youth, the 2011 winners of the defunct KFF Nationwide League and one time champions of Top 8 Cup (2016) was the first of the sugar-belt boys club to go down in 2018. They were relegated from the top tier after failing to honour three league matches.
An attempt to revive the club by merging it with Chemelil Sugar bore no fruit after the latter was also disbanded.
The problem can be traced to the dwindling standards of the sugar industry in Kenya. Most of these companies, that also sponsor the Nzoia Sugar FC, as well as Sony Sugar, another club staring at the face of dissolution, are currently struggling due to Sh40 billion debt owed to the government.
“It’s a sad reality that Chemelil Sugar FC will be no more. But again God is above all. Thanks for the lessons and making me stronger than before,” a former Chemelil player Vincent Wanga posted on his social media page as he absorbed the news of the dissolution of the club that was founded in 1968.
Though Sony Sugar team manager Emmanuel Geno remains optimistic that things will get better as they gear up for a new season at the National Super League, following the millers’ relegation last season, the reality is that the club is struggling and may even be disbanded, if no sponsor comes on board.
“We are preparing for a journey in the NSL,” Geno said.
Just like Chemelil and Muhoroni Youth, Sony is also said to be facing dissolution, same as Nzoia Sugar who are also said to have been bitten by the same financial bug that has been consuming some of the oldest Kenyan football clubs.
With Muhoroni Youth, Chemelil, Sony Sugar and Kisumu All Stars all out of the top tier, the greater Nyanza region now has just one club, Western Stima in the top most league in the country.
The greater Western region is known for producing some of the country’s best football talents like Micky Weche, Peter Dawo, Dennis Oliech and the Wanyama brothers – Victor and MacDonald Mariga – among others.