Africa-Press – Kenya. Outgoing Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has allayed fears that there is a vacuum in football leadership in the country.
In a statement on Wednesday, Amina reiterated the government’s desire to ensure a smooth transition in the ministry even as officials step up efforts to return the sport to normality.
Panic has gripped the local football scene after the mandate of the government-backed Transition Committee expired on October 16. “I would like to assure clubs, stakeholders and the football fraternity that there will be no vacuum,” Amina confirmed.
The CS reminded local clubs to abide by the rules even as they seek a long-term solution to the ongoing crisis. On Monday, 14 Kenyan Premier League clubs met to set dates for the new season.
“As members of the FKF, we encourage them to find in their Constitution and Fifa statutes available provisions that they can use to run an elite league if only to protect their investments,” she urged, adding that the government remains firm in its determination to ensure compliance with the Sports Law.
She assured the local football fraternity that the government was still open to talks with the world football governing body, Fifa.
“The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage are ready to hold further talks with Fifa to solve the current situation.”
Speaking about the raging debate on promotion and relegation, Amina said the law remains crystal clear about the procedure to be effected.
“The right of the club to participate in the local league championship will depend mainly on merit,” Amina observed.
She added: “The club will qualify for the domestic league championship by staying in a certain division or by being promoted or relegated to another at the end of the season.”
The fate of two clubs promoted to the Kenya Premier League hangs in the balance following a meeting held at a hotel in Nairobi on Monday. APS Bomet and Fortune Sacco were promoted directly to the top division after emerging as winners and runners-up in the previous season of the National Super League.
But their future now looks bleak after Mathare United and Vihiga Bullets sent representatives to the KPL meeting which had the blessing of Football Kenya Federation CEO Barry Otieno.
Of the 18 KPL clubs that participated in the previous tournament, only Bandari, Kakamega Homeboyz, Talanta and Nzoia FC failed to appear. Reacting to the standoff, Amina criticised the expelled federation for promoting anarchy to promote vested interests.
“The previous report of the FKF Transition Committee identified specific cases of rule violations, where several teams that were relegated were included in the 2021/2021 KPL season,” Amina said.
“Clubs that were nowhere in the relevant league levels found themselves in competition without the rule of promotion and relegation,” she added. The outgoing CS cited Zoo Kericho who were allowed to participate in the second-tier competition despite a Fifa ban.”
“A team that was sanctioned by Fifa for match-fixing was included in one of the league levels despite Fifa’s order that they are relegated. Sadly, the other clubs never found out until the FKF Guardian Committee found out.”
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