 Good afternoon and welcome back to the Touchline on Y25 for Maxwell Waseke. My name, keep talking to us at Touchline Y25 for Maxwell at Y25 for Channel. Of course this time round we're going to speak about a very interesting conversation regarding the welfare and interest of footballers in the country and with me in the studio is the body mandated to represent and ably advocate for their interest. James Zituma, I call him Chemo, captain himself is joining us for the first time in several years down the line. Tango omoke, ali tutupake dogo, but he's here. Glad he's joining us as long as I tell you who's a good friend and now vice chairperson. Of course both of them have sailed through this morning's elections after receiving no opponent. I don't know whether that one is attributed to their skokad or something. How come they never got to be, you know, competed against? Jamu, good to see you. How are you doing man? I'm fine. You're keeping well? Umenige uziya lakins ok. I'm the one who said so ali Tango omoke. Uziya sa umenitu pakuha. Suti mene roka bro kumbu kwa president lazuma... Nashkuru ah mambe nene kibadili ka? Lazuma ukismama pona ruto ya nini kama president winiya ruto president James Zituma. Nene na pakuha panojapia we have so many members so we have to be at pakuha. Terry miyaje, mimreya puku ona tena. Ukupua? Yup. In the past you were a CEO general secretary. The rate of communications or something. I don't know it was related to the rate of communications. Now you're coming in as vice chairperson. How does this feel? How are you looking for transitioning into media duties to now administrative aspect? Actually it's more or less the same thing. I'll just be the vice president in charge of communications. So it's not anything new plus it is not... Actually it feels the same. It's still the same work working for the players. James you've been in the game for a while, a former player. You know played for several teams locally, national team as well. Captain wearing that. But that experience is up there now. It is something that I've seen you taking higher after picking it from the grass. Now you seem to be visible your activities. How has it been like? It has been quite a journey. From playing to administering is a totally different thing. It comes with a lot of challenges. Of course the way we know the situation in our country. The welfare of the players have to be taken care of. And challenges left, right and center. It takes you into some responsibility. You have to take responsibility. And I'm so happy that behind me we have an able team. That has been really working so hard to make sure that we share the ideas. We come up with the programs. And also how can we make the welfare of the players maybe to be okay. And you know with also the other football stakeholders we believe we can do something. So it has been a tough journey. And of course coming back again the second time into the office. It gives us more challenge. It's a challenge to us to make sure that we have to do more. To make sure that the welfare of the players are looked into. So for us of course we have the aims and visions. And we believe that having the second time we have the trust from the players. And from the members I can say to work for them. And maybe to fight for their rights. How has it been like in terms of pushing for their welfare. And you know it's a huge group of players. Both former, current and even the promising ones. And considering that you've been elected and opposed in this morning's elections. What does that mean? Because of your track record your skokad has been decent. Of course that distrust from the players what we have done for them. And maybe what we are looking for to do. Because as I said you know looking after the players 4,000 plus members. With a league that doesn't have a sponsorship you know there's a big challenge. Because their welfare is somehow neglected. And you know it gives us another opportunity maybe how can we help these players. So we come up with the other programs to make sure that they should the players they can do. Like maybe those who want to go back to school. They can go back to school. We have taken through some of the players that have taken that path of maybe going back to coaching. We have done that. We have also done some of the partnership with some of the schools like Zittek University. We have our members almost 50 players maybe and doing some learning there. So we see how can we help these players because we don't have money in the league. And also when we represent them in legal issues. Some of the issues can take up to maybe 1, 2, 3 years. So what happens to the players. So we come up with other plans to make sure that the cases are going on. So what can they do. And the learning is bankrolled by KFOR. Of course we have a partnership with the Zittek University 50-50 share. So for us maybe we come in maybe that's the aspect where Terry comes in. Maybe marketing communication. So if a player can maybe let's say pay 30,000 per semester. So you have to part with 50 or 15,000 and maybe the rest of the 15,000 it's paid up by the school. So that's where we come in. I have worked with you. I work with you. I work spirit speaks for itself. And now you know that gender parity. Kenyans love making noise when they see wasike situma. And there is no lead in between. I think they will say gender is not being factored in. In your own perspective probably means welfare and football would get to move to another level as well. Yeah and it's not just gender parity because it is one of the policies. It's marriage. You see it's sometimes women in positions like this you get to people make you feel like they're doing your favor. We are qualified and we've been doing the job over the years. So that is why even at KFWA we have so many women who are working with us. Because we believe that they have the potential to do it. It's not just about maybe gender balance or anything. It's getting the best people who can do the work for the players. So for me I feel like it's been we've been here for years actually in and out. Like you say we've worked together. We've worked on different platforms. But it is just the fact that we are not sometimes we are together but we are not together. So as players or even former players there's I always say it is powerful if we work together as a collective. In one voice instead of situma just making noise on his own. He also working in isolation somewhere else. But if we come together and actually champion for a cause collectively. And it can push the policy makers to make the necessary changes. Like now we're struggling with things like safeguarding. I'll talk about the women's side mostly because I've not had male players saying that they're being abused. But it is something that is chronic now why because there are no safeguarding policies or even if they are there no one is implementing them. So such like things are the things that we need to champion for and advocate for for the implementation not just having them on paper. We go and launch all the safeguarding policies. We launch the much fixing integrity phones but who is actually following up and making sure that these things are being implemented. Because otherwise the environment will still not be safe for the players and football is work it's not just enjoyment or passion it is work. For some people they wake up in the morning and that is their job. They look at the nutrition they look they go to the physio that is expense. It's not part time for them. Yeah it is full time. They are daily commitment. Exactly. So in as much as we are preparing them for transition or maybe life after football we need to secure that now because it is their work. So if we say we will just be advocating for do coaching courses some of them do not want to do the coaching courses. Some of them do not want to go to school. They just want to focus on football as a career fast now and get paid. So I think if we try and push for what we've been singing standard contracts and all that now that we want to work together with the federation as well and see how that can be done and also just have a voice and probably the club licensing thing have the clubs also do the resource mobilization so that they can sustain the players. And James I have seen I think you in your company got a gentleman from FIFPRO which means your activities are well sanctioned in compliance with international guidelines. How is it like you know working with them? Are they based in Geneva? Zurich? Netherlands. How is it like? How has it been like and what do they make of you know Kenyan footballing scene? Of course we are under FIFPRO and we are under always under their guidelines and you know they are so professional and they believe in professionalism and that's why they are here and they believe in integrity and you know fairness and that's why they we have the representative from FIFPRO to come and make sure that also they oversee the process because they have really really supported us It has to meet merit and stuff like that. Yeah of course of course because they have really helped us and they have really given us support to make sure that our activities goes on or to make sure that we champion for the welfare of the players because also their main work is maybe to see their main work is to see the welfare of the players both men and women are looked into and you know we have never gone wrong under them so we still appreciate their guidance their support and also their presence in the country so also I'll say maybe I acknowledge the way Teria is saying the good thing at the moment is that we have a good will from the Kenyan Federation and we also want to appreciate them a lot because they really are flagged of the process of electoral congress because initially before we had of course the noise having done the election and blah blah but I think at the moment we have a good will and we have set a couple of times maybe when we play and make sure that to see how can we come together Kenya football as well federation to make sure that the players are well taken up because in between you have the players without the players we don't have the organization That is the most important person Without the clubs or the players we don't have the football federation so I think the key person here is the player and the good thing is that they have shown the good will and for us we are open minded we are 100% under their guidance also they will show how they want things to be run and also we are ready to share the ideas because we have a couple of things that we need to share with the FA concerning the players so that maybe is for another time I just want to say that we have now good blood and they have really supported us throughout the process we have finished the process as smoothly and we feel now we can champion for the welfare of the players Terry I got a friend of mine who keeps telling me that the problem with Kenyan sporting administrators is that whenever they visit overseas they never take benchmarking notes that they will come back in the country and want them injected into our running of the game you are widely travelled yourself having been in calf organization of women football and I have seen you attending training symposiums and matches how can we get to incorporate what you learn overseas so that it can be factored into our administration and what KF is also doing to advocate for the interest of our players yeah it can work and maybe it cannot because you see if you contextualize the African sport or maybe football it is totally different from what happens in Europe because you can't just say you will go and watch IUF a Champions League final and say oh we want to do the same thing in Kenya or maybe in Egypt it depends with also our context what is happening in your country how can you incorporate whatever you have learnt and whatever is happening we normally say because sometimes it is ok to go and learn and watch but do you have the facility, do you have the expertise, do you have the right people to implement or maybe even so it boils down to several factors training and learning is important in as much as we want to be the best what are we doing in terms of capacity building in terms of just ensuring that our facilities up to standards like now we have problems of stadiums not being up to standards and stuff like that so probably we can't even host any tournament or something so these are things you can just copy it also depends what are you doing in your own space and what is your context, what are your cultures what can you borrow and what can you not borrow so I think it is just a matter of learning and unlearning maybe the things we normalize in this country like making it normal to play bad pictures for instance which is something that should be I think if you start by professionalizing the game it means we have the right equipment we have the right pictures we have the right, we have been paid allowances because no one will go and enjoy the game if they are not enjoying the work they are doing Jamu I think you have been in the game for a while and Teri is speaking about a very paramount point of facilities, welfare ensuring that facilitation of the players is something that is being factored I know you got a few minutes before we wind up this segment because it was a short notice but it is something we do comprehensively going forward talk to us about how you seek working with the government of the day we have seen Telantahela getting launched yesterday Ababuna Mwampa has looked promising from the first days of East Tint and President Root also yesterday spoke passionately about football and how to restore the lost glory and we have seen Kenya beating for 2027 Afkan with other East African countries how is that manageable? someone who has played for top local sites featured overseas slightly played for the national team how can we execute and ensure that this comes to pass? of course we always have good ideas tangible ideas but again the only and doings that the process between maybe digesting the ideas putting them on paper and maybe coming up the way you can implement those ideas that's the only challenge we have because the ideas we have but at times we take more shortcuts than the long cut because it needs, it's a process you have to take step one we want to implement it swiftly exactly you have to take step one step two, step three and it takes time it's a process so what I can say football has its own guidelines and as I can say the FFA, the Federation we have the guidelines of let's say club licensing it's something that the FFA can look into that in a better position to make sure that it's implemented in our country and also from outside we will try our level best to see maybe we look into the issues of standardized contracts we have the CBS, we have also the NDRCs so I can say the four or five major points that at the moment you want to look into between the Kenya football and the FFA if we can have maybe two, three working then we can start from there and make sure that the welfare of the players are looked into Teri we have final submissions regarding the state of the game and what you seek to do to ensure that our football gets to another level I've seen I think a community from football Kenya Federation regarding our team and the starlets hitting the camp in preparation Yes, the under 18 Ya, just looking forward to it because last year we were in the cold I'm looking forward for that first international match whether it's under 18 I also know Vigia Queens will be representing us in the regional SEKAFA for the Champions League so ya, just looking forward to it because you see the game has grown even the level of football right now it's up there and we have so many players going pro which is a bad thing because we need to have the money here to pay them but yes I'm looking forward to it Jamu, your batting shots splinter groups as far as bodies to represent players how are you going to work to consolidate the same into one For us as Kenya football as well fairization we are always open minded and we believe if you have any idea that can champion for the welfare of the players you are welcomed, we come to share ideas we believe football we need everyone on board we can disagree to agree so I believe if we can be all in one basket we can champion for the welfare of the players so we welcome anyone we can give us guidance we believe that with more knowledge we can move this football to the next level Robas do of James Ituma alongside Terry Uko Kenya football as welfare association president and his vice chair person respectively joining us this particular afternoon to share their insights regarding what they are doing and what they continue doing to ensure that the better lives of our footballers and calling upon others to join hands to ensure that this comes to pass of course it's been on a short notice but I think it's something that we're going to be discussing and talking about as program proceeds to another level this was suggesting our producer that we need to introduce a segment where someone is coming to talk about the welfare of women in sports and Terry Uko is here I think Rob after this you can share and talk sidebar anyway the touchline the show still progresses and don't go away stay tuned remember tonight in Istanbul it's mouthwatering clutch meeting in Tamilan and sitting champions league finale where is your money keep talking to us don't go away stay tuned