Mombasa United CEO Nick Arunga has revealed that the club, rather than former patron Suleiman Shahbal, initiated their separation after a disagreement over the financial demands of competing in the FKF Premier League.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe club administrator dismissed claims that the Mombasa politician abandoned the team and corrected that the decision to part ways was mutual after Shahbal's proposed financial commitment fell short of the club's expectations following their promotion to the top flight.##NAJAVA_MECA_10055702##The Sultans received close to Ksh10 million in support from Shahbal last season when they competed in the National Super League (NSL).However, promotion to the Premier League significantly increased their financial requirements, with the club's budget projected to rise fourfold.Speaking to Mozzart Sport, Arunga explained that the club approached Shahbal with new financial targets and sought a substantially higher contribution to retain the front-of-shirt sponsorship position.“Last season, at the NSL level, he was sponsoring the team to a tune close to Ksh 10 million, not even the full KSh10 million, it was almost nine.But now you can imagine we are in the Premier League. We have new players, an advanced technical team, and our media team. The budget has gone up almost four times,” he explained.Gor Mahia captain on competition from Frank, Kibwage after overcoming two-month injuryHe added that the projected increase initially covered only home matches and salaries, excluding additional expenses such as away fixtures and winning allowances.“That is four times last season's budget, and that is if we have decided to only add home matches and salaries. We have not added away games, winning allowances, and other expenses.So our budget has skyrocketed. We told him the ultimate for him to be a sponsor: he needed to provide three times the budget he was giving.Then he saw that it was a bit high. He requested time, which we gave him, and then he came back with an improved figure, but we said it would be hard, and we just parted ways,” the former Modern Coast Rangers boss explained.##NAJAVA_MECA_10055693##His account suggests that the disagreement centered on the scale of financial commitment required to sustain the club in the top flight, rather than a unilateral decision by Shahbal to withdraw his support.The CEO further revealed that Mombasa United had begun preparing for life without their former patron before the conclusion of last season's NSL campaign.Towards the end of the second-tier season, the side changed the branding on the front of their jerseys from Shahbal Foundation to Tembea Mombasa, a move presented as part of efforts to market the coastal city.We can now, however, disclose that the change was also linked to concerns over the fulfillment of financial pledges made to the club.“Towards the end of the NSL, if you were keen, we started changing our jerseys from Shahbal Foundation to Tembea Mombasa.It was like marketing the region because, towards the end of the season, someone failed in terms of delivering pledges they had made for the season,” he said.How and where to buy Harambee Stars versus South Africa ticketsThe development indicated that the relationship had already begun to change before Mombasa secured their place in the Premier League, with the club assessing alternative arrangements to meet its growing financial needs.Arunga, one of the longest-serving figures in the Mombasa project since its inception, maintained that reports suggesting Shahbal had resigned as patron did not accurately reflect what transpired.He said the club set out its financial expectations at the start of the new campaign and allowed Shahbal to continue supporting the team under the revised terms.##NAJAVA_MECA_10055732##“When this season started, we spoke to him. Now the team is in the Premier League. The patron did not resign, as is being said out here. We are the ones who gave him ultimatums for him to get a jersey sponsor for the Premier League level.We gave him our targets and what a sponsor should give to the team for him to occupy the front of the shirt. We came up with our own internal figures and gave them to him, telling him what he needed to do to remain with the club,” he explained.South Africa release star-studded provisional squad to face Harambee StarsMeanwhile, United have endured a slow start to life in the FKF Premier League following their promotion from the NSL.The Sultans lost 1-0 to Kakamega Homeboyz in their opening match before suffering a 2-1 defeat against Mara Sugar in their second fixture.
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