Ferdinand Omanyala’s former coach Daniel Ayiemba has laid bare the financial tussles that led to their highly publicized breakup in late 2023.
Ferdinand Omanyala’s former coach Duncan Ayiemba believes money was the main reason for his split with the sprinter.
Omanyala severed ties with Ayiemba in October 2023 after failing in his bid to win a medal at that year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
With 2024 being an Olympics year, Africa’s fastest man thought it was wise to try out someone else and enlisted the services of Geoffrey Kimani, dumping Ayiemba who had been with him since the start of his sprinting career.
Ayiemba has since explained how he felt the coaching change was ill-timed as Omanyala did not succeed at the Olympics, failing to make it past the semi-final, but he believes everything started going south when he began asking questions about his payments.
“If I am your employer and I agree to be paying you Ksh50,000 net and instead of giving you the Ksh50,000, I give you Ksh45,000 without telling you where the Ksh5,000 has gone or what it has been deducted for,” Ayiemba told Athletics TV.
“That will definitely bring rumbles because you already know you should be receiving Ksh50,000 so you will definitely ask questions.
“On my side, money was just coming, I was being paid but I didn’t know the total amount I was supposed to be paid.
“I expected to get 20 per cent of the winnings and in the contract, it was $200 around Ksh16,000 then. For the contract, it was that much but unfortunately, I wasn’t getting the breakdown.”
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The tactician says he was getting paid haphazardly which got him curious since there existed a contract that spelt out the terms of engagement.
“I was supposed to be given a breakdown like this is what has come from Adidas, competitions, I won Ksh1 million and after deductions this is your cut. Those were the things I was expecting,” Ayiemba went on.
“Since Ferdi was like a son and brother to me, I didn’t ask many questions because if I was to ask those questions, I’m sure we would have broken up a long time ago.
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“I didn’t ask many questions then but the moment I started asking, I am sure that is where second thoughts might have come from but I was expecting a breakdown.
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“You gave me Ksh100,000 but can you tell me where it has come from? I wasn’t not getting the breakdown, [I was] just getting money. So, for me to get the breakdown, that is the main issue.”
Ayiemba feels the sprinter did not show him the respect he deserved despite the sacrifices he made to ensure his career blossomed only to dump him when he started demanding what was due to him.
“You need to be open; it is your feet and training that is making you earn money,” he added.
“The coach is with the athlete like 90 per cent compared to the manager who will help you look for races and it is from the bonuses is when they earn but it is different from me as a coach.
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Ferdinand Omanyala’s former coach believes his decision to change coaches in 2024 was a costly mistake.
“You compete, you pay, you get endorsements I expect, but unfortunately, I think it wasn’t all that clear. I expect a lot according to my calculations,” Ayiemba further said, explaining that he is still owed money by Omanyala.
The tactician had revealed how he learnt of his split from Omanyala through a WhatsApp text from his new coach, adding that he has not heard from the sprinter since.
Omanyala has meanwhile focused on his career and is preparing for the 2025 season, where is looking to right the wrongs of 2024 after failing to reach both the Olympics and Diamond League finals.
