Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa Thursday continued to remain cagey over the cost of the competition’s newly unveiled golden trophy that has attracted little enthusiasm from the football fraternity.
Mwendwa said that of importance was the fact that for the first time, the FKF-Premier League had a trophy that symbolises the local competition.
The 24-carat gold trophy, made in Dubai, was first unveiled on Wednesday night on Citizen TV.
During the night interview with the television channel, Mwendwa offered that over $50,000 (about Sh5 million) was spent in making the trophy.
It was the same script yesterday when the trophy was presented to a section of sport journalists in Nairobi. “Why do you want to know the cost of this trophy,” asked Mwendwa.
“Why are we asking about trivial things? What is the value in telling Kenyans about it? I am hesitant to talk about money but the heritage of Kenya. We are talking about what has been done that has never been done before. We need to get away from attaching monetary value in every little thing we do.”
He defended the design of the trophy, saying it was motivated by “Kenya’s heritage”.
The trophy is 80 centimetres tall and weighs 11 kilograms. According to Mwendwa, it took nine months to be completed from the design concept to actual moulding.
It was crafted by Crystal Arc, a Dubai-based trophy manufacturer.
It depicts a Maasai hoisting a football, while standing on the base of Kenya’s Big Five – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo.
“We lacked that in Kenya before. We used to have trophies that did not have a representation of what Kenya is, so last year we decided to make something that everyone will remember,” said Mwendwa.
“I am not prepared to engage in a debate whether the Maasai fits or not…We think there is no better or bigger symbol than it and we want to sell it because with the big five, it is what we (Kenya) are known for.”
Immediately after it was unveiled at Citizen TV, Kenyans took to social media, a majority criticising the trophy’s design.
“(This trophy is a )tournament for KWS,” said Eriq Abidal on Facebook.
“Big miss. You have played us,” Oginga Evans wrote on Twitter.
“What is this surely!” Francis Musonye mused.
Leaders Tusker and KCB are the favourites to lift the new trophy with six rounds of matches remaining. BY DAILY NATION