SportPesa Chief Executive Officer Ronald Karauri has slammed the government after it advanced financial support to Gor Mahia Football Club.
The Ministry of Sports on Thursday purchased tickets for Gor Mahia players and technical team to Kinshasa, DRC Congo, where they are scheduled to play DC Motema Pembe in a Caf Confederation Cup play-off return leg on Sunday.
The Kenya Premier League (KPL) champions also signed a five-year partnership deal with Agro Chemical and Food Company on Wednesday.
The deal stipulates that the Kisumu-based state corporation will give the club Sh5 for every bottle of their flagship spirit products Patriot Gin and Patriot Vodka sold.
Karauri, however, faulted the move saying it was a waste of taxpayers money and discriminatory since other clubs were not getting such financial support from the government.
"It is indeed good news that Gor Mahia are getting the support they need from government at this time, but is it really fair to offer support to one team when all teams are struggling to even show up for matches and pay their players? I think it is a waste of taxpayers money for government to fund private sports entities," he tweeted on Friday.
The SportPesa boss said instead of the government footing bills for broke clubs, it should create a conducive environment for corporates so they can support them and thus build sports from the grassroots.
"When did you last hear governments offering financial support to Arsenal or Barcelona? Government should ensure national teams are adequately funded and sports infrastructure is adequate, but also support the sport ecosystem to ensure private teams don’t struggle for funding," Karauri said.