Players should be wary of rogue unlicensed agents, warns Situma

Kenya Footballers Welfare Association (KEFWA) president James Situma has cautioned football players against falling prey to fake agents.

The former AFC Leopards and Harambee Stars midfielder says if not careful, players would find themselves in the hands of rogue agents who could ruin their careers.

“In Kenya, when you want to be an agent, he will start singing everywhere about a certain player with the intention of looking for an avenue for greener pastures.

Just like that, you become an agent who is not licensed”, said Situma.

FKF licenses agents after rigorous training, but some find back-door avenues to dupe players.

“They are directly involved with the players, and this situation makes it very hard for these players to define who the legitimate agent is and who is fake.

“Most of these players who find themselves in the fake hands of agents are innocent because they don’t know.

For example, to go talk to players from, let’s say, AFC (Leopards) or any other team, there is nowhere the football federation will be able to know that you are doing that now that it’s between two people—the player and the agent—unless the player licks it to the federation,” added Situma.

Situma has acknowledged the important training Kefwa also gives players to understand how to handle matters about agents and contracts.

“We have many programs, including capacity building—here, we enlighten the players on going through the contracts before signing them.

"We have a program that helps sensitize players on how they can deal with and know these fake agents. When you have this knowledge, you can’t be dragged into these fake agents," concluded Situma.