Anxious wait continues for new FKF-PL season kick-off
Tusker players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Football Kenya Federation Premier League on June 12, 2022 at Ruaraka grounds.
What you need to know:
- The football fraternity is now awaiting the new government to be established for a way forward to be found.
The Football Kenya Federation Transition Committee has yet again postponed the start of the 2022/23 FKF Premier League.
“The committee has received several requests from clubs to postpone the league until the uncertainty surrounding the league is addressed,” said the Transition Committee chairman General (retired) Maurice Oyugi in a press statement Friday.
“The committee would like to inform clubs that the request has been granted and league kick-off date will be communicated once all stakeholders agree on a way forward.”
The Transition Committee whose term ends on October 15 had set today as the start of the delayed new season.
But with clubs maintaining their tough stand of not participating in an FKF-PL that is not recognised by Fifa and has no sponsorship, the Transition Committee was again forced to postpone its start to a date “that will be communicated soon.”
All the 18 top flight clubs under the Kenya Premier League caucus had on September 21 announced that they will not compete in a league run by the Transition Committee as long as Kenya was suspended from international football.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed on November 11, 2021 disbanded the FKF on grounds of alleged corruption.
The CS then constituted an FKF Caretaker Committee to run football in the country.
Fifa banned Kenya from international football for what they cited as interference by the government.
Initially, the Transition Committee had set September 10 as the kick-off date of the new season before postponing it by another two weeks.
Embattled FKF president Nick Mwendwa threw more confusion into the new season on September 20, when he unilaterally reinstated himself into office and announced that the league would start in late October.
The football fraternity is now awaiting the new government to be established for a way forward to be found.
Former Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba was nominated to the position of Sports CS by President William Ruto this week but will first have to be approved by Parliament before he can begin the serious business of saving Kenyan football.
