Showdown looms as MPs order FKF, CFAs to work together
Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa speaking at Kandanda House, Kasarani in Nairobi on September 20, 2022.
What you need to know:
- FKF has had a feud with CFAs, with the latter accusing the Nick Mwendwa-led body of not recognising them despite being duly registered by the Sports Registrar.
- The CFAs want the Mwendwa-led FKF disbanded on grounds that it is not compliant to the Sports Act 2013.
A showdown is looming in Kenyan football after two factions were called to a meeting by parliamentarians.
National Assembly Committee on Sports, Culture and Tourism on Saturday directed the Ministry of Sports to convene a meeting bringing together its top brass, the parliamentarians, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and County Football Associations (CFAs), with the purpose of ironing out the differences between the two football bodies.
FKF has had a feud with CFAs, with the latter accusing the Nick Mwendwa-led body of not recognising them despite being duly registered by the Sports Registrar.
The CFAs want the Mwendwa-led FKF disbanded on grounds that it is not compliant to the Sports Act 2013.
Led by Wilfred Marori, the Secretary General Nairobi County Football Association, the CFAs argue that the FKF Constitution is not aligned with the Sports Act and the Kenyan Constitution 2010. They want fresh FKF elections held by September.
Webuye West MP Dan Wanyama, who is also the chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Sports, Culture and Tourism gave the Ministry of Sports three weeks to sort out the matter.
“Please, give it (negotiations) a priority because we shall summon you here again to say what has happened and we will not have very kind words,” Wanyama told Sports Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke who attended the meeting.
“Next time we come her, we should be saying that we have tried and it has not worked so which way…We will ask FKF not to be hardliners, come to the negotiation table with an attitude of give and take because at the end of the day, it will be difficult if we do not go that route.”
The MPs accused the Ministry of Sport of not doing enough to solve the unending conflict in football governance in the country.
Wanyama said they will not “allow a section of persons to hold the country hostage behind the threat of being banned (by Fifa).”
“On this matter, you (Ministry of Sports) have slept on the job. With the new energy, we expected you to come and sort it once and for all. If we continue the way we have been doing, people are going to take advantage and stay in office forever,” charged the Webuye West MP.
Mueke agreed that there is a problem in football management in the country and urged the stakeholders to give dialogue a chance to save Kenya from being suspended again by Fifa.
He said amending the Sports Act will solve the stalemate forever.
“Each way we go, our young people will suffer but if we come together and find a middle ground, we might be able to find a short term solution that will include everybody as we fix this problem once and for all by amending the Sports Act,” said the PS.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba had on April 27 told the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare that he is waiting for Fifa’s response on several integrity questions raised over the Mwendwa-led FKF.
The Sports CS said the government had shared with Fifa a dossier on several integrity issues on FKF and asked the World football governing body to allow the government to address them without attracting a suspension or ban.
Earlier, the Saturday session with the MPs which was held at Tamarind Tree Hotel in Nairobi was dominated by questions as to why APS Bomet were denied promotion from National Super League to the FKF Premier League.
The matter had been raised by Bomet East MP Richard Yegon.
Soon after being reinstated into office by Namwamba, FKF National Executive Committee annulled the 2021/22 FKF-Premier League, National Super League, Women Premier League, Men’s Division One and Women’s Division One League.
FKF said that it does not recognise the leagues on ground that they were run by an illegal body - the FKF Caretaker Committee and Transition Committee which were appointed by former Sports CS Amina Mohamed after she disbanded FKF on November 11, 2021. Fortune Sacco is the other team which earned promotion to the top flight league.
Matungulu MP Stephen Mule said it was unfair for the teams to be denied promotion.
"I cannot imagine a young man playing football for almost a year, putting all his effort to qualify for premier (league) then his star is dimmed by somebody. Does it mean that the Ministry of Sports doesn't have teeth (to bite)?" posed Mule.
Wanyama said that he had suggested that the 2022/23 FKF-PL be expanded to accommodate the teams that earned the promotion.
In his response, Mueke said that when they moved to intervene on the matter between the clubs and FKF, they found that it was already before the Sports Dispute Tribunal thus their hands were tied.
