Africa-Press – Kenya. The country has taken a bold step to resolve its dispute with the world football governing body, Fifa
Unfortunately, the drastic measures taken seem to be taking a heavy toll as Kenya tries to end the stalemate that saw its teams kicked out of international competitions.
Tusker football club has been stripped of their 13th Kenyan Premier League title in the most incredible fashion.
And at the same time, the promotion of APS Bomet and Fortune Sacco to the Kenyan Premier League has also been canceled.
The fate of the three clubs was decided at a meeting organised by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) National Executive Committee on Wednesday.
Before the decision, the brewers had bagged two consecutive titles in 2021 and 2022 and were looking for a third one to put the silverware away for good. They achieved the same feat in 1972, 1977, 1978, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011, 2012, and 2016.
APS Bomet and Fortune Sacco were promoted directly to the top tier after emerging as winners and runners-up in the preceding National Super League season.
But their celebration was short-lived after the FKF NEC sent them packing from the country’s top tier even before they had kicked a ball.
Football Kenya Federation chief executive officer Barry Otieno revealed that the National Executive Committee had decided to cancel the 2021/2022 season.
Otieno stressed that the 2021/2022 FKF Premier League, National Super League, Women’s Premier League, men’s First Division League and women’s First Division League will not be recognised and all have been declared void.
“There will be no promotion or relegation in the FKF Premier League, National Super League and Women’s Premier League. The FKF men’s Division One and FKF Women’s Division One leagues will neither promote nor relegate,” he said.
Otieno, however, said the 2021/2022 seasons of the lower tiers will be recognised and their decisions will be taken into account because they were run by FKF branches by the prescribed rules.
“2021/2022 FKF Division Two, regional, and county leagues will promote and relegate clubs to their respective tiers.”
He further revealed that the men’s and women’s Division One league will be expanded in the new season to include teams promoted from the FKF division two and women’s regional leagues.
“The FKF Women’s Division One and FKF Men’s Division One league will be regularised in the 2023/2024 league season,” he said.
Subsequently, the federation has set dates for the return of top-flight football.
“The kick-off date for the FKF Premier League is November 19, 2022, and National Super League is on November 26, 2022. That the kick-off dates for the FKF Women’s Premier League, Women’s Div One league, and Men’s Division One league be December 3, 2022.”
In a move that many observers believe was aimed at defying the FKF Transition Committee, Otieno arranged a meeting with Kenyan Premier League Clubs last month, setting the tempo for the current activities.
Signs of trouble began to emerge after Mathare United and Vihiga Bullets who had both been relegated in the preceding season sent representatives to the meeting.
Of the 18 KPL clubs that participated in the previous season, only Bandari, Kakamega Homeboyz, Talanta, and Nzoia FC failed to attend but apologised.
The presence of the high-level management official of the disbanded FKF in the meeting raised suspicion and there were whispers that the clubs were laying the ground for the return of Nick Mwendwa’s team.
The meeting came a few weeks after FKF President Nick Mwendwa announced plans to regain control of the federation’s headquarters at Goal Project in Kasarani, Nairobi.
Seemingly, some of the affected clubs had gotten wind of what was bound to happen. Even before the NEC’s decision on Wednesday, Vihiga Bullets head coach Juma Abdalla had assured his fans a month earlier that they will still be playing in the first division next season despite being relegated by the defunct FKF Transitional Committee.
Abdallah dismissed any possibility that they will be featuring in the second-tier league next season. Vihiga were relegated after their first debut appearance in the toplight league.
“What we know is that we are still a big part of the Kenya Premier League. The court emphasized that the league was not run legally and there is no basis to demote us.
“We have seriously started the preparations for the next season and everyone is happy that we will register a stronger performance than last season. We are just waiting for FKF to confirm the date,” Abdallah said.
APS Bomet coach Charles Odera has said that any decision to exclude the team will be catastrophic to his players.
“It will be a big setback, especially considering that our players are already thinking about taking that big step,” Odera said.
“Such a move would also discourage our sponsors who have given so much to push us to this level,” he added.
Otieno has since moved to distance FKF from allegations of malice and denied claims that their controversial decisions are aimed at discrediting the Transitional Committee.
In defense, Otieno was categorical that NEC’s decisions were guided by FKF Laws and Regulations (2019), Fifa statutes as well as the rulings of the Sports Disputes Court on several cases presented to the court regarding the FKF 2021/2022 season.
Earlier in the year, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Transition Committee refuted claims that the 2020/2021 Kenyan Premier League season had been nullified by the SDT.
Local football enthusiasts were left befuddled as unconfirmed reports of the league’s nullification by the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) rattled the whole country.
Migori Youth FC, Gusii FC, Dandora Love FC, Zoo FC, Kamungei United FC, Coastal Heroes FC, Mwatate United FC, Kisumu Allstars FC, and Francis Ngira Okello filed a case at the SDT contesting the appointment of the FKF Transition Committee in May by Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed.
A ruling by SDT chairman John Ohaga left different stakeholders deeply divided on its interpretation, with a section excitedly rushing to social media to share reports that the season had been invalidated.
However, in a statement released and signed by chairman General (retired) Maurice Oyugi, the Transition Committee dispelled the reports as rumors, insisting that the ruling had no bearing on the outcome of the 2021/2022 KPL season.
“The attention of the FKF Transition Committee has been drawn to a ruling by the Sports Dispute Tribunal petition number E021 of 2021 season has been invalidated,” the statement read in part.
“We would like to inform all the football stakeholders that the leagues have not been invalidated by the Tribunal and the league standings released by the FKF Transition Committee remain the same.
FKF’s move has elicited strong reactions with local football stakeholder, Samson Cherop threatening to sue the national body if it fails to reverse its decision to cancel the previous season.
“It has come to the attention of football stakeholders that the FKF National Executive Committee met and passed resolutions terming the FKF Premier League, National Super League, Women’s Premier League, men’s Division One, and Women’s Division one Leagues 2021/2022 Null and Void.
Cherop says the issue is weighty and of great concern to Kenyan football enthusiasts, adding that FKF took action without considering the public’s wishes.
“The FKF NEC has no powers to unilaterally nullify a league season that has been concluded. It is against the fair administrative process for several clubs who anticipated being promoted to the next league tiers,” Cherop said.
Cherop said the decisions made by the FKF were controversial considering they affected the leagues managed by the Transition Committee which was created by the government and funded by taxpayers.
“It looks like a revenge mission without considering the welfare of football clubs who spent considerable time and resources in honouring those league matches.”
He reminded FKF that the High Court had previously decided that the Transition Committee was established by law and therefore any decisions they made were valid.
“I humbly request upon the FKF NEC to relook at this and withdraw this decision and adhere to sporting merit by proceeding with the leagues from where the Caretaker Committee left and in case some clubs are aggrieved with promotions or relegations, let the said clubs pursue dispute resolutions provided by FKF Statutes or Sports Tribunal.”
He said the FKF NEC should be alive to the fact that the country is not working in a vacuum.
“While you were away football leagues flourished and proceeded. Football never stopped waiting for you to come back. I look forward to receiving your response as soon as possible failing which I shall be at liberty to sue you and the FKF NEC and enjoin the affected football clubs.”
The major activities witnessed in the football arena come a few days after the Minister of Sports Ababu Namwamba reinstated the FKF National Executive Committee and its secretariat.
The CS swung into action after meeting senior officials of the Kenya Premier League clubs at the Kenya National Library Service in Nairobi where his offices are located.
Speaking to the media, Namwamba related his decision to the demands that had been made earlier by the world football federation, Fifa.
“The government is committed to fulfilling the conditions set by Fifa so that the penalty is removed. Whereas we need our football to be restored, we do not turn a blind eye to integrity, the rule of law, and good governance. In my meeting with the suspended NEC, I have been open with them about these issues,” Namwamba said.
Part of the agreement between the government and FKF is that Nick President Mwendwa should be sidelined from football until he is cleared by the court.
The embattled FKF honcho was part of the team that met Namwamba. “Mwendwa has acknowledged that he has a court case that needs to be resolved. In the meantime, the team in the world of Fifa led by Barry and Doris will roll football in the country.”
Namwamba said he hoped that Fifa will take quick steps to end the existing crisis.
“We expect Fifa to respond with speed to the communication which will be released to them after this presser. We will continue to engage Fifa even on other issues,” added Namwamba.
A week earlier, the Kenya Premier League caucus asked Namwamba to reinstate some sacked officials of the embattled federation to jumpstart negotiations with Fifa.
The caucus recommended the reinstatement of FKF vice president Doris Petra, chief executive Barry Otieno, and the entire secretariat.
Fifa earlier in the year asked the government to eat humble pie and restore the embattled FKF administration led by Nick Mwendwa as a condition for lifting the suspension.
The heightened activities came a week after the FKF Transition Committee’s term expired. The committee, which was created by former Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed on November 11, had overseen the previous season and managed the promotion and relegation of the affected clubs.
The government-backed Transition Committee and the ousted federation led by Nick Mwendwa had been embroiled in a power struggle over the past two months.
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