FKF boss cleared to contest Fifa post

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa's candidature for the position of Fifa Council member has been approved.

A communique released by Fifa Review Committee on Wednesday, said four candidates had been cleared to vie for the Fifa vice-president (Confederation of African Football president) seat and 13 others for the Fifa Council member.

At the same time, the Mukul Mugal-led committee said that it had disqualified four candidates from the race.

Fifa reserves seven Council positions for Africa – two for English-speaking countries (Anglophone), two for French-speaking members, one automatic slot for the Caf president, one for an Arabic-speaking country and one general slot.

It is one of the English-speaking countries that Mwendwa, 41, is going for in the March 12 election in Rabat, Morocco.

"I have already placed my candidature and will be heading to Morocco to popularise my bid. There are three other contestants (from English-speaking) countries but only two will be elected," said Mwendwa last October.

According to the list of candidates cleared for the Fifa Council membership, some of the Mwendwa’s opponents are Tanzania’s Football Federation president Wallace Karia, Malawi’s Football Association president Walter Nyamilandu and Zambia’s Football Association president Andrew Kamanga.

The rest are Amaju Pinnick, the president of Nigerian Football Federation and Lamin Kaba Bajo, the president of Gambia Football Federation.

This is the second time that Mwendwa is seeking to be elected into the council after he pulled out in 2018. Should the FKF president clinch the seat, he will be the first Kenyan football administrator to get hold the influential position.

"It is a position that will catapult Kenya and East Africa onto the decision-making table in world football. There is also another chance for our youth to get job opportunities,” said Mwendwa last year.

Those cleared for the Fifa vice-president and Caf president seat are South African Patrice Thlopane Motsepe, Ivorian Jacques Bernard Daniel Anouma who is also a former Fifa Executive Committee member, Mauritanian Ahmed Yahya and Senegal’s Augustin Emmanuel Senghor.