Why footballers are one injury away from poverty, debts and broken families
By Willow Health, July 10, 2026“For six months, porridge prepared on a big sufuria (cooking pot) was my breakfast, lunch, and supper,” recalls ex-Harambee Stars player Mike Amwayi, who lost all his teeth after a brutal jaw injury and now lives with dentures.
Kenya’s attacking midfielder Mohammed Bajaber missed the 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN) after a thigh injury in Harambee Stars training. The strain robbed him of power and speed, which cost him a Ksh5 million bonus from the team’s quarterfinal run.
Bajaber had become Kenya’s talisman after a spectacular 75th-minute goal against Gambia in a World Cup qualifier this March. The goal secured him a professional contract with Tanzanian giants Simba Sports Club.
In football, brilliance can define a career, but so can a single misstep. A mistimed tackle, awkward landing, or studs caught in turf can turn a rising star into a sidelined spectator. Left untreated, injuries threaten not just seasons but entire careers.
Bajaber’s case shows gaps in football injury care: local clubs often lack physiotherapists, youth tournaments see many injuries with poor diagnosis, and weak rehab protocols push players back too soon.
In contrast, Tusker FC – in a rare case – pledged to pay medical bills for midfielder John Njuguna, who sustained a meniscus tear three months ago, even though his contract had expired. A serious tear needs surgery to repair or remove the damaged piece, and Njuguna is still in rehabilitation.
Others weren’t as lucky. Former Mathare United goalkeeper Martin Musalia and midfielder Jaffery Gichuki ended their careers after knee injuries in 2011 and 2015, respectively. Sofapaka FC players Abdul Latif Omar, Osborne Monday, George Opiyo, George Owino and Wilson Obungu all suffered career-ending knee damage between 2011 and 2013. A twisted knee can shred ligaments and cartilage, replacing explosive speed with permanent instability.
Post-surgery rehab and follow-up care are virtually non-existent in most clubs
Timothy Ondeko, former Kakamega Homeboyz doctor and now a Vihiga County sports officer, says: “At least 40 per cent of players who undergo ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) surgery never return to professional football. Not because they lack talent, but because post-surgery rehabilitation and follow-up care are virtually non-existent in most clubs.”
A twisted knee can shred the ligaments and cartilage that a career is built on, replacing explosive speed with permanent instability.
Ondeko noted that after such injuries, some KPL clubs terminate contracts, leaving players in “immense stress, financial loss and depression.” He adds: “Unless you’re lucky to be in a well-funded club, you’re on your own.”
Clubs lack structured injury management. “After surgery, often crowdfunded, there’s no monitoring, no physiotherapy, no nutritional support, nothing. That’s where careers end,” said Ondeko.
Yet FIFA rules require clubs to provide medical care, honour contracts after injury, and maintain safety standards, with breaches attracting fines, compensation orders, or transfer bans.
The glass cut through my face. Blood was everywhere. My sister-in-law screamed, ‘You are going to die’
Career-ending injuries have plagued Kenyan football for over 40 years. In the 1980s, AFC Leopards and Harambee Stars players like Dan Musuku earned Ksh750 for home matches and Ksh1,500 for away games, with no health insurance. “If you got injured in camp, it was you, your family, or the chairman’s goodwill that got you treatment,” Musuku told Willow Health Media.
At Leopards, chairman Alfred Sambu introduced pay-for-performance: Ksh500 for a win, Ksh250 for a draw, nothing for a loss. “There were no contracts, no professionalism. You played out of passion. If you got injured, another player took your place.”
Musuku’s career ended after he hitched a lift following a match on a rainy day in 1987. The car skidded around Ruaraka on Nairobi’s Thika Road, shattering the windshield.
“The glass cut through my face. Blood was everywhere. My sister-in-law screamed, ‘You are going to die,’” recalls Musuku, who underwent surgery at 2am at the Aga Khan Hospital. Two weeks later, he left permanently blind in one eye. His career abruptly ended, with the club partly helping him pay the bill.
“Football in Kenya makes you important only when you are playing. After that, nobody cares,” he says, advising: “Go to school. Get papers. Treat football as a side hustle. One injury at 25 can end your career.” He insists contracts must include life and accident insurance, warning: “Players are just one injury away from poverty, debts, and broken families.”
Ex-AFC Leopards captain Martin Imbalambala lost his sight, has received little mental health support
Teammate Mike Amwayi suffered a knee injury in 1986. “The club paid part of the bill, but the rest was from my own pocket. We had no insurance.” A 1990 collision when playing against Gor Mahia fractured his jaw, wiring it shut for six months. “My wife cooked porridge in a big sufuria that became my breakfast, lunch, and supper.”
The club helped, but he still paid from his own pocket. He lost his natural teeth, now relies on dentures, and retired in 1993. “To date, I can’t bend my knee properly.” He advises: “Let us insure both players and technical bench for easier treatment when injuries come.”
Former AFC Leopards captain Martin Imbalambala lost his sight to glaucoma. He received physical rehabilitation through the Kenya Society for the Blind (KSB), but little mental health support, highlighting another gap.
Football is a contact sport with common injuries including ankle sprains from twisting or awkward landings and hamstring strains or tears triggered by sudden sprints or overstretching. Knee injuries include anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) tears, as well as meniscus damage from sharp turns or heavy tackles.
Concussions, head trauma linked to clashes or repeated heading of the ball
Muscle tears affecting the quadriceps, groin, or calves are also frequent from overexertion or inadequate conditioning. Fractures of the leg, arm, or collarbone arise from collisions or falls, while concussions and other forms of head trauma are linked to clashes or repeated heading of the ball. Players also suffer from overuse injuries like shin splints, stress fractures, and chronic back pain.
Several footballers have tragically died on the pitch, mostly from sudden cardiac arrest or hidden heart conditions, like Cameroon’s Marc-Vivien Foé, who collapsed in the 2003 Confederations Cup. Such deaths highlight the need for rigorous medical screening, regular monitoring, and emergency preparedness in football worldwide.
Unlike Europe or South Africa, most Kenyan clubs lack physiotherapists, sports doctors, or rehab programmes. Kenya has only about 10 orthopaedic surgeons handling sports injuries. Insurance is shallow, covering only basic hospitalisation, while surgeries like ACL reconstruction cost about Ksh400,000 – far beyond players’ Ksh25,000–Ksh45,000 salaries.
Top players abroad earn millions and enjoy full medical teams including doctors, physiotherapists, sports scientists and nutritionists for comprehensive player care. By contrast, Kenyan players rely on goodwill. Harambee Stars received Ksh232 million in allowances and bonuses during CHAN 2024, but countries like Uganda and Rwanda are already providing structured medical insurance for players.
Football has more injuries than rugby due to poor training, weak technique, bad facilities
The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), this month secured a medical insurance deal worth UGX 750 million (Ksh26 million) for the 2025/26 season, covering 700 players in the Uganda Premier League and Women’s Super League.
In Rwanda, national team players can apply for insurance via the government platform IremboGov.
Dr Issah Kweyu, a sports scientist at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology MMUST, says football sees more injuries than rugby due to poor training, weak technique, bad facilities and poor nutrition. “A player’s training should be holistic… low flexibility increases risk of muscle tears, poor agility causes collisions, and weak mental strength exposes players to more injuries.”
Dr Kweyu adds that most football injuries affect the lower limbs, especially the knee, patella, cruciate and collateral ligaments, shin and foot: “Often from poor tackling, dislocations, or collisions. Head injuries are also common and can be devastating.”
He adds Kenyan clubs lack proper technical benches, which should include coaches, doctors, physiotherapists, nutritionists, psychologists, and sports scientists. Without them, injuries devastate players’ livelihoods.
Beyond the pitch, he said, injuries devastate livelihoods. “Without medical cover, players cannot afford treatment, families fall into poverty, and many athletes lack exit strategies after careers end. Coaches on short contracts face similar instability.”
A dehydrated player risks muscle pulls, poor balance, increasing risks of collisions
Eileen Mulaa, a sports nutritionist and CEO at Enafit Wellness, links sports nutrition to enhanced performance and reduced risks. “A dehydrated player risks muscle pulls and poor balance, which increases the likelihood of collisions. Even meal timing matters. If you eat a heavy carbohydrate meal too close to a game, your body struggles to digest while also trying to generate energy, leading to fatigue and injury.”
Mulaa explains that physiotherapists and doctors are crucial in injury management: “They need proper equipment, safe facilities, and well-rehearsed rescue plans. Most importantly, there must be a strict ‘return-to-play’ protocol. Unfortunately, many players in Kenya return to the pitch prematurely, when the pain has only subsided, but the injury hasn’t fully healed. This mismanagement leads to recurring injuries and career-ending damage.”
Prof Edwin Wamukoya, a lecturer in Sports Science at MMUST, says reforms like medical insurance and checks introduced recently by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) are “welcome but inadequate. Kenya has rules but weak implementation.” He recalls stricter club licensing in the past but says it collapsed. “In South Africa, medical cover, pensions, and rehab are non-negotiable. In Europe, welfare is entrenched in law and backed by unions. Kenya must make welfare a policy guarantee.”
On infrastructure, Prof Wamukoya is clear: “Kenya needs a national sports injury and rehabilitation hospital. Players should not compete with general patients. A dedicated centre would treat injuries, train specialists, and support research.” However, Nairobi Hospital is developing one.
He also stresses the need to integrate sports science into policy. “Our universities generate evidence on injury prevention and rehabilitation, but it rarely informs practice. Institutions must partner to safeguard athletes.”
Wamukoya adds: “Players often rely on physiotherapists who lack specialised training. This leads to incomplete recovery, recurring injuries, or even shortened careers.”