The thin air and rugged terrain of Kenya’s highlands may have been the perfect breeding ground for a succession of world-beating athletes, but the east African country has become the victim of a ”brawn drain” to countries with fatter chequebooks.
Public concern has grown as star runners have been poached — changing their nationality in return for cash. Kenya has been losing trophies that its athletes once regarded as heirlooms.
But this weekend, a teenage striker for the national soccer side has become a popular hero for turning down a lucrative deal to play for Qatar.
Dennis Oliech (19) revealed that he was offered £1,6-million to switch nationalities on the eve of the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia this month.
”I believe I have made the right decision,” Oliech told the Nation newspaper. ”I love my country and would not take anything to change my identity.”
Oliech made his debut for Kenya at 17 and has scored 12 international goals, including the last-minute winner in the qualifying round of the African Nations Cup against Cape Verde islands.
The Nation contrasted his decision with that of a series of athletes who defected to Qatar and Bahrain last year.
In August, the Qatari athlete Saif Saeed Shaheen, formerly known as Stephen Cherono, won the gold medal in the 3 000-metre steeplechase at the World Athletics championships in Paris. Until he switched countries, just weeks before the games, Kenya had won the steeplechase at each of the last six World Championships and every Olympics it attended since 1968.
At least six other top Kenyan athletes have been persuaded by Qatar and Bahrain to change their nationalities in the last year.
Kenya’s athletics coach, Mike Kosgei, has said the national side could be undermined. But the sportsmen who have changed sides complain that the fierce rivalry to get into the Kenyan team means they have fewer opportunities to compete.
”To make the Kenyan side is very hard,” Cherono said during the World Championships. ”With Qatar, I’m sure I can keep going for 12 more years.”
The financial incentive is also far stronger for runners than for those in the highly-paid world of football. As well as being a national player, Oliech turns out for a Qatari club, al Arabi, and is being watched by several European teams.
The deal offered to Cherono, who was not required to renounce his Roman Catholic faith despite his change of name, included a guarantee of £640 a month for life. He earned £1 300 a year as a Kenyan runner.
The brawn drain has been linked to a decision by the Qatari government to fund the construction of an athletics stadium in north-western Kenya. Both countries deny that the new facility is a quid pro quo.
”Sportsmen across the world change allegiance for money,” the Nation noted. ”David Beckham can leave Manchester United for Real Madrid and life goes on.
”After a few tears from the fans who bemoan the loss of a favourite superstar, it’s just a good business deal for all concerned.
”Now they can take it to the next level. Athletics Kenya and the ministry of sport can set up a fully-fledged marketing agency to hawk our athletes.”
Picking the best
Qatar, an oil-rich state with keen sporting ambitions, has acquired Albert Chepkurui, a gifted Kenyan runner who now competes as Ahmad Hassan Abdullah.
Bahrain has poached a number of top-flight runners including Abel Cheruiyot, the junior silver medal winner in the 2002 World Cross Country Championships, and Leonard Mucheru, a team gold medal winner in the 2000 World Cross Country Championships.
Gregory Konchellah sacrificed a family name with a proud reputation — his father, Billy Konchellah, was the 1987 and 1991 world champion at 800m — to run for Bahrain as Youssef Saad Kamel. He finished second in the Gulf Championships in Kuwait last October. – Guardian Unlimited