Action to resume amid uncertainities
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League clubs seem to have unanimously aggreed to resume action tomorrow.
On Wednesday, the head of secretariat of the Caretaker Committee appointed by Sports Cabinet Secretary three weeks ago, television journalist Linda Oguttu, emailed club bosses with fixtures indicating that action resume on Saturday at different venues.
Yesterday, the committee chairman retired judge Aaron Ringera wrote to all premier league clubs and the National Super League clubs assuring them of funding.
“FKF Caretaker Committee will provide logistical support of Sh300,000 for each Premier League Clubs. We will also provide Sh250, 000 for each of the National Super League clubs. Any reviews or changes to the above will be communicated in the near future when necessary,” wrote Ringera.
While a section of club bosses confirmed they would lead their sides to the field for the league resumption, they questioned the mandate of the committee since they had not been ratified by Fifa.
In a letter Fifa Secretary General Fatuma Samoura sent to Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed on November 14, the world football governing body categorically expressed their reservations against the appointment of the caretaker committee and even threatened disciplinary action.
“I must highlight that the appointment of a so-called ‘Caretaker Committee’ by your office is undoubtedly contrary to our principles according to which all our member associations, including the FKF, are required to manage their affairs independently and without undue influence of any third parties. This situation could therefore potentially lead to a suspension of the FKF by FIFA and in such a case, it would be all of Kenyan football that would suffer the consequences,” Samoura said.
Nairobi City Stars Chief Executive Officer Patrick Korir said : “We are ready to play but there are a lot of grey areas that need to be addressed before action resumes. We need to clearly know the name of the league, does the caretaker committee have the mandate to run the league and appoint referees before they are ratified by Fifa?”
He added: “Under what rules will we be playing if Fifa does not recognise the caretaker committee? Will we be playing for fun or playing for a price? For adjudication purposes, in case of disputes during matches, who will we be running to? Players and coaches are very ready and in fact desperate for the resumption of matches, wether competitive or friendlies, but we hope all these questions are addressed without politics.”
Kakamega Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula said his team will honor the matches no matter what name the league had been given.
“Whether the league is called a donkey, a cow or even Amina Premier League, we are going to play in it. We want to end impunity in football as we wait for Fifa to appointment a normalisation committee to organise fresh polls,” Shimanyula said.
