Kenyan Prime Minister Tried To Secure Inter's McDonald Mariga A Work Permit For Manchester City Move

“The FA president, David Triesman, assured me that with a UK work permit now in his hands, Mariga could join an English side in May when another transfer window opens," Raila was quoted as saying in Daily Nation.

"I would like to assure soccer fans and all Kenyans that, together with the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Rob Mcaire, I have done what I could to get Mariga into Manchester City FC and [that] all is not lost," the premier said.

"I spent a minimum of three hours on the phone talking to Gordon Brown's office, the Africa Office, the Office of Culture and Sports, the Home Office, and to Mariga himself."

The PM discounted claims that it is Kenya’s poor ranking that sealed Mariga’s case.

"The reason he was denied the permit has nothing to do with Kenya’s ranking. The FA confirmed this to me and I want to say it is a creation of the media."

But according to the FA rules, a player must have appeared in 75 per cent of his country's competitive international 'A' team fixtures in the previous two years; permits will be valid for the length of a player's contract with the club and the FIFA ranking of the player's national side aggregated over 2 years (at or above 70th place) is a basic criterion.

Mariga's imminent transfer to Manchester City created a lot of excitement over the weekend in Kenya, with local media giving it front page coverage. By Saturday many papers had indicated that Mariga had actually moved to Manchester City and that the transfer deal and personal terms had been concluded.

One paper had indicated that the Kenyan ace's move was worth €10 million and that he was to earn €100,000 a week, and another screamed on Tuesday: "Why Mariga's dream for a billion ended cruelly". The paper maybe thought the transfer money would have ended in Mariga's pocket!

The local media, just like the majority of Kenyans, was not informed of the intricacies of the FA rules, thus making the whole issue raise a storm with many people now faulting the UK government for denying Mariga a chance, instead of questioning the poor management of local football that has made the standards sink every passing day.