Farouk Shikalo delighted with AFCON bonus

by Graeme Jackson

Friday May 22, 2020. 11:00

Kenya national team goalkeeper Farouk Shikalo has expressed his delight at receiving a significant bonus from the country’s football federation (FKF) for playing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The Harambee Stars appeared at the continental finals for the first time since 2004 and were eliminated after finishing third in a tough group, behind Algeria and Senegal.

Each member of the squad has received at least KSh.750,000 for their participation at the tournament in Egypt.

“Since I started playing football, I have never received such an amount of money,” Shikalo told Goal.

“And I don’t think that applies to myself only. We were lucky to have been those who have earned the highest amounts of bonuses ever while representing the national team.”

He added, “When you get such kind of money, you want it to make a difference and to remember the occasion. For me, it helped me complete a number of projects and one of them was to finish the construction of my mother’s house.

“I want to thank Football Kenya Federation and the Ministry of Sports for making this possible and I hope the remaining part of the bonus can be sorted out quickly.”

The goalkeeper also revealed that camping in France before the AFCON was ideal preparation and helped them claim a famous 3-2 win over East African rivals Tanzania in Cairo in a Group C clash.

“It was a big motivation to train in France and play the build-up matches we did against Mauritius and Congo and personally, I want to have another opportunity to once again qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals but this time to be able to play,” Shikalo explained.

“There are many opportunities every time a team qualifies for such a major tournament. First of all, there are a lot of agents following teams and so it gives us a platform to showcase our talent.”