Federation warns of sanctions if league kicks off late

Football Kenya Federation CEO Barry Otieno has warned that local clubs risk missing out on continental football if the top league in the country does not start by November.

The federation released draft fixtures for the 2020/21 FKF Premier League (FKFPL) season with AFC Leopards set to host Western Stima in the opening game on November 20 while defending champions  Gor Mahia play away to Tusker a day later.

However, the start of the 18-team league solely hinges on the federation getting a go-ahead from the government.

Football is among the contact sports that are still suspended by the Ministry of Sport due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The sport was branded a contact one by the ministry and excluded from the first batch of disciplines allowed to restart on September 18.

Otieno said they were in talks with the relevant authorities to allow the league to kick off.

“If we don’t kick off by mid-November then we will be risking Kenyan clubs missing out on continental football. They might be ejected from Confederation of African Football (Caf) fixtures for the coming years since our league will not end within the required period,” said Otieno.

“However, we continue engaging the Ministry of Sports and other government authorities as we are cognizant of the fact that the Covid-19 situation is still tricky. We are not out of the woods yet but we have committed to ensuring all the laid down protocols are observed,” Otieno told Nation Sport.

“It is also very key to have the league back as a large chunk of national team players come from our top league and therefore we need them to be match-active to ensure Harambee Stars perform well in their assignments,” he added.

A Ministry of Sports official who is not authorised to speak to the press acknowledged ongoing discussions with the federation.

“FKF have engaged us (Ministry of Sports) to explore the re-opening of football and we are in discussions and reviewing a number of issues. For instance, it is easy to ensure that no fans enter facilities like Nyayo National Stadium, Narok Stadium and Moi International Sports Centre as outlined in the protocols but what about other venues where you can’t control entry and exit?”

The official said the Ministry of Sports had the best interests of sportsmen and women in the country and was eager to ensure they got their daily bread.