Kalekwa: Sofapaka players to sign performance contracts from next season

Sofapaka president Elly Kalekwa has stated they will introduce performance contracts to all the players in the team in a bid to improve their displays in the FKF Premier League.

After signing 11 players in the last transfer window, Batoto ba Mungu have struggled to keep pace with the leading pack in the top-flight and were already way off the top teams on the 18-team table when the league was halted owing to the spike in numbers of coronavirus cases.

Sofapaka, who had invested to challenge for the title they last won in 2009 during their debut season, were 11th on the table on 19 points from 15 matches, 17 fewer than leaders Tusker FC, who accumulated 36 points from 16 matches.

It is the reason Kalekwa has confirmed to Goal they will introduce a performance contract to be signed by all the players and whoever fails to impress will be dismissed or will have his salary cut.

“We will introduce performance contracts in the club as a measure of gaining more output from the players after a run of poor results,” Kalekwa told Goal on Monday.

“I will introduce it from next season because we only have two months to conclude the current campaign, so it will not be possible to introduce it now, I want the players to be responsible in whatever they are doing, I want them to be committed, it will be a contract which requires players to up their game and produce the results.

“If any player fails to meet what he has signed, then we have the right to terminate his contract or even pay him half of his salary as per the contract signed, it will be no joke, because the contract will also make them to realise they are fighting for something, there is something at stake.”

Kalekwa admitted he was so far not impressed with the team’s performances, insisting on the way he had invested in the team, he was expecting them to be among the top three teams on the table.

“Of course I am not happy with the performance so far this season,” Kalekwa continued. “It is not the kind of results I was anticipating my team to produce, you know we invested a lot in the team, we signed eleven players but if you look at how they are performing, it is below average.

“I am not happy because sometimes you find my team losing to a team which did not make even a single signing during the past window, and it hurts me when I remember we signed 11 players, it is something we have to change in the team and I will start by introducing the performance contract and then more stringent rules will follow.”

Sofapaka are currently led coach Ken Odhiambo, who moved from Bandari FC to replace John Baraza, and only last week, they appointed former Harambee Starlets head coach David Ouma as their sports director and assistant coach.