Victor Wanyama (left) and his big brother McDonald Mariga outside Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. [ Photo/nation.co.ke]
Compared to athletics, football in Kenya is not a very lucrative job. This is evidenced by the fact there are hardly any fulltime football players in the country. Some players, however, have curved out a niche for themselves and broken out if the fold. Here is a look at some of the most popular and well paid footballers in Kenya.
Victor Wanyama
Wanyama is considered as the golden boy of Kenyan football. He plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur and captains the Kenya national team. Wanyama became the first ever Kenyan player to score in the UEFA Champions League when he scored the first goal in Celtic's 2–1 win over Barcelona on 7 November 2012. On 11 July 2013, Wanyama moved to Premier League club Southampton for £12.5 million making him the most expensive player sold by a Scottish club. He is one of Kenya’s best football players and the richest. He is pegged to be earning between 20 – 35 million Kenya shillings a month.
McDonald Mariga Mariga is Wanyama’s elder brother and plays as a defensive midfielder for Spanish club, Real Oviedo and the Kenyan national team. He earns 14m a month.
Michael Olunga Olunga plays for Spanish club Girona FC on loan from Chinese club Guizhou Zhicheng and the Kenya national team as a forward. He is reportedly said to rake in Sh12m per month.
Arnold Origi Any lover of Kenyan football has to know Origi. He is a goalkeeper who made major impact on First division side Ullensaker/Kisa. Currently he is a Norwegian professional footballer who currently plays for Lillestrom in Norway and the Kenya national. His monthly salary is reported to be close to Sh3 million.
David Ochieng
The former Tusker Player plays for New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and the Kenya national team as a defender. When he moved to Tawoon in Saudi Arabia, the salary shot to millions. He is said to earn around ksh2.2 million a month.