Hussein Mohammed (left) and McDonald Mariga at Kempinski Hotel, Nairobi on October 12, 2024.
Thirteen years after Hussein Mohammed first contested the presidency in the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) elections in 2011, he has landed the role of leading football activities in the country.
Hussein, 47, and former Harambee Stars midfielder McDonald Mariga were overwhelmingly elected FKF president and vice president respectively during the federation’s election on Saturday at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Indoor Arena in Kasarani, Nairobi. The Murang’a Seal Football Club’s vice chairman and Extreme Sports Chief Executive Officer garnered 67 votes in the second round, while outgoing FKF vice president Doris Petra and former Secretary General Barry Otieno got one vote each.
Running under the slogan ‘Team Fresh, Hussein got 43 votes in the first round of voting while Petra and her running mate, outgoing FKF president Nick Mwendwa, got 31 votes. The run-off was necessary since the winning candidate in the election had to meet the 50 per cent plus one threshold according to the 2017 FKF Constitution.
With Kenyan football in deep crisis, Hussein and Mariga have their work cut out for them over the next four years. The immediate task is to break away from the antagonistic relationship that has existed between FKF and the government, which funds most sporting activities and national teams, and inculcate a positive relationship. They must work with the government to ensure that Kenya does not lose the right to co-host the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) with neighbours Uganda and Tanzania.
Hussein and Mariga must ensure sound management of Kenyan football, and elevate the profile and quality of the local leagues so as to attract lucrative sponsorship deals for the benefit of local players. They will need to work with both the national and county governments which own stadiums, to ensure league matches are played in conducive venues.
They must professionalise local leagues by implementing club licensing procedures in line with CAF’s standards. They also have an uphill task of developing grassroots football and combating match-fixing, which is rampant in local leagues.
Fears abound that CAF could strip Kenya of the rights to co-host the 2024 CHAN scheduled for February 1 to 24 next year due to ill-preparedness. CHAN is a biennial tournament for local-based players. Renovation work on Kasarani Stadium, Nyayo National Stadium, as well as training venues - Police Sacco Stadium, Ulinzi Sports Complex, MISC Annex, and Kenya Academy of Sports in Kasarani - is behind schedule.
International matches
CAF inspectors who visited Kenya two weeks ago noted that the country still has a lot of work to do to be ready for the tournament, and set a December 31 deadline for completion of renovation work. Uganda and Tanzania which will co-host the tournament with Kenya each have one world-class stadium. Tanzania have been hosting international matches at the 60,000-seater Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, while Uganda have been playing at the 42,000-seater Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
Hussein will serve as the vice chairperson of the 22-team National Steering Committee of the “Pamoja Chan 2024 and Pamoja Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Multi-Agency Team” whose mandate is to oversee Kenya’s preparations to co-host the two key tournaments with the two neighbouring countries.
Over the years, Kenyan footballers have played in dilapidated facilities and even though it is not the responsibility of FKF to build stadiums, Hussein’s administration faces a significant task of collaborating with both national and county governments and other stakeholders for Kenya to have world-class match and training venues across the country.
Currently, the 5,000-seater Dandora Stadium in Nairobi and the 10,000-seater Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos are being overused, as they host most FKF-Premier League matches, and lower-tier league teams also sue them. Speaking on August 28 when he launched his bid for the FKF presidency, Hussein said his administration will embark on an ambitious infrastructural development.
This will include having at least two or three eco-friendly 5,000 or 10,000-seater stadiums in each county, and upgrading two standard pitches in the Coast, Eastern, and North regions and one each in Nyanza, Western, Upper Rift, and Lower Rift regions.
At the moment, local men’s and women’s leagues lack a title sponsor., and teams have been grappling with a biting financial crisis. Apart from struggling to honour away matches, many team officials and players have had to cope with meagre salaries.
Match fixers
Match officials have not been spared either as they often go for several months without pay, making them easy prey for match-fixers. Since January 2023, FKF suspended about 40 individuals including players, team officials, and referees for allegedly engaging in match-fixing. Today, only the FKF-PL has sponsorship – a seven-year broadcast rights deal with Tanzanian pay television company Azam Media Limited which is worth $9.1 million (Sh1.3 billion).
The deal, whose terms were kept confidential by the previous FKF office holders, was signed on August 31, with each of the 18 clubs expected to receive Sh300,000 per month.
The Sh1.6 billion seven-year free-to-air sponsorship deal between Kenya Broadcast Corporation (KBC) and FKF Premier League signed in November last year has been plunged into uncertainty, with reports indicating that the government stopped covering the cost. Each of the clubs was to receive Sh10 million per season.
Last season, Gor Mahia and Kenya Police received a meagre Sh5 million and Sh1 million as the prize money for winning the FKF-PL and Kenya Women’s Premier League respectively.
Most of the KWPL leagues and the other women’s teams in the lower tier leagues do not pay their players salaries.
The low quality of Kenyan leagues has been cited as a key factor in the poor performance of national teams. Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat has often pointed to this as one of the reasons for the team’s struggle. Last month Kenya failed to qualify for the 2025 Afcon in Morocco after finishing third in Group “J” with six points.
Cameroon and Zimbabwe qualified after garnering 12 and nine points respectively. In enhancing professionalism and sustainability in Kenyan clubs, Hussein’s administration will have to ensure strict adherence to the Club Licensing rules.
Club Licensing rules are regulations that came into force in March 2012 to raise the level of football in Africa by raising the level of football infrastructure in the country, ensuring transparency, accountability, and financial stability by clubs. Among other things, the regulations require clubs to prove that they have no payable overdue towards their current and former players and social or tax authorities as of December 31 of the year preceding the season to be licensed, and to have a stadium suitable to host club competitions. They also need an approved youth development centre, and must provide annual financial statements.
Despite the regulations being introduced in Kenya more than a decade ago, most of the clubs in the country are nowhere near to complying with all of them.
