More premier league clubs disown 2021/22 season on grounds it’s unrecognised by Fifa
Embattled former Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa has won the first round of the tussle pitting him and the Sports Ministry after a section of Premier League clubs disregarded a season under the supervision of the Transition Committee.
Mwendwa claimed to have repossessed the federation’s secretariat at Kandanda House on Tuesday and immediately announced that he was expecting the Fifa ban to be lifted for local leagues and other football activities to be up and running.
Barely a day before Mwendwa’s proclamation, eight clubs including Gor Mahia, Tusker, Nairobi City Stars, Posta Rangers, AFC Leopards and Kenya Police joined the bandwagon of clubs that have embraced the decision to act as per the rule by playing in a league that is recognized by the world body.
During a meeting at a Nairobi hotel yesterday, 13 clubs stated that they would only participate in a league that is recognised by Fifa and not the one under the patronage of the government-backed Transition Committee.
The rebel clubs argued that taking part in a league that is organized by the Transition Committee will be nonsensical as there will be no returns.
The altercation is stemmed from the fact that as long as the committee continues holding sway in the governance of the league, no funds will be pumped in the same by Fifa while prospective sponsors will further stay away due to the shenanigans that have gripped the local game.
Further, the clubs said that topping the league will all be in vain as there will be no slot for either the Africa Champions League or the Cecafa Club championship that comes up with the honours.
Their argument comes in the wake of the 2021/2022 league champion Tusker being sidelined in the money-spinning Africa Champion League following the ban by Fifa over the government’s interference in the sport. The clubs made the resolution that was contained in a statement that was read by Gor Mahia Chief Executive Officer Raymond Oruo.
The statement read: “All we are saying is that as clubs, we are not going to get into a league that is taking us nowhere. Some things happen and when you sit back, you ask, was it good for us? There comes a point when you say, enough is enough. This season we are not starting with a league that is not sanctioned.”
Nairobi City Stars’ CEO Patrick Korir added: “Our club has been affected badly with the football mess with the sponsors slashing their sponsorship by half. We are not going to be part of the unsanctioned league.”
Korir made the announcement a few hours after Gor Mahia and shirt sponsor Betafriq parted ways on mutual agreement, just after two months into the Sh228 million three-year deal.
