Nairobi, Oct 25

Players of the Kenyan national rugby sevens team have gone on strike to protest the delay in signing new contracts.

The strike Thursday comes barely a day after the country's union unveiled South African Paul Treu as the new head coach in a bumper pay, perks and bonus deal, reports Xinhua.

The step taken by a group of about 30 players who are contracted to play for the country every season throws preparations for the second leg of the HSBC World Series in Dubai next month into a spin. 

KRU Wednesday announced the biggest pay package in the history of Kenyan sport for Treu and the team he is set to bring to Kenya from Nov 1 when his three-year contract -- that runs to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- gets underway.

The South African is set to earn a monthly net salary of $11,000 alongside other perks such as first class tickets from title sponsors, Kenya Airways, an official car, comprehensive insurance and massive bonuses.

"They are wondering why there is no money to pay them well while there are funds available to give the coach better pay in his phone allowances for example," a source said.

"The issue is about contracts, because the players went to (HSBC Series opener) Gold Coast 7s with the sponsorship deal not signed earlier this month," an official at KRU told local media. 

"The players trained today (Thursday) and some of them like assistant captain, Collins Injera, picked their contracts and we expect the rest to finish signing theirs soon."

By:IANS