The World’s Football governing body, FIFA has lifted a ban on the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), the body in charge of football in Kenya. The ban had been in place since February, when FIFA found that the Kenyan government had interfered in the running of the FKF.
The lifting of the ban means that Kenya can once again take part in international competitions, and its teams will be able to play friendlies with other nations. It is a big boost for Kenyan football, which has been hugely affected by the ban.
The ban was imposed last year on the country’s football operations, alleging corruption and embezzlement of funds. This move followed state interference in the country’s football operations, which caused many of the country’s top footballers to leave the country. This left the country’s football operations in a state of chaos, and the country was unable to participate in the World Cup. The country is now working to improve its football operations, and it is hoped that the ban will be lifted in the near future.
FIFA Secretary-General Fatma Samoura has announced that following the recent ban on Kenyan football, representatives from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will be meeting with the newly appointed Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba.
This ban came as a surprise to many in the footballing world, and has caused some consternation among the Kenyan public. However, FIFA is hopeful that by working closely with the Kenyan government, they can reach a resolution that is satisfactory for all parties involved.
On November 25, FIFA’s decision-making body, the bureau of the Council, decided to lift the suspension of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) with immediate effect. In a statement released by FIFA, Secretary General Fatma Samoura said that the decision was made “in light of the progress made by the FKF in recent months.” The FKF had been suspended since April 2019 due to government interference in the federation’s affairs.
After FIFA lifted the suspension of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), a FIFA-CAF mission was deployed to Nairobi in order to define the next steps for the FKF and to meet with the newly appointed Cabinet Secretary for Sports. The mission will assess the current situation and make recommendations on how to move forward. It is hoped that this will help to improve the situation for football in Kenya.
Since the ban was put in place, no Kenyan team has been able to compete internationally, including club sides. This has had a significant impact on the country’s ability to develop its football talent. Many young players have been unable to receive the proper training and exposure needed to reach their full potential. As a result, Kenyan football has been significantly disadvantaged compared to other nations.
Kenya’s football federation has been hit with a string of disciplinary action from the sport’s governing bodies, resulting in the country missing out on three continental tournaments.
The first incident occurred in 2019, when the federation was fined for ordering the national team to abandon a training camp in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations. This led to the team being withdrawn from the tournament.
Then, in 2020, the federation was again found guilty of organizing a training camp in an unauthorized location. As a result, the country’s club sides were withdrawn from the CAF Confederation and Champions League games.
All Kenyan domestic club leagues, which were due to start in late August, failed to kick off after teams vowed to boycott competitions until FIFA sanctioned the league. This decision was made in response to the Kenyan government’s decision to dissolved the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), the country’s governing body for football. The government’s decision was made after it was alleged that the FKF was corrupt and had mismanaged the game in the country.
The teams’ boycott of the domestic leagues has meant that there has been no football played in Kenya since the end of the 2018/19 season. This has been a huge blow to the game in the country, as football is one of the most popular sports in Kenya.
Outgoing Chief of Staff Amina has well briefed us on the proposals put forward to solve the current standoff between FIFA and the Football Kenya Federation, and we want to look at them taking into account President Ruto’s call to fidelity to rule of law,” said Namwamba.
“We want to solve this matter as soon as possible so that Kenyan football can return to normal. All stakeholders must work together to find a solution that is fair and respects the rule of law”.
However, FIFA says the decision to lift the ban on Kenyan football was made without the influence of the ongoing investigations and court proceedings. FIFA says that the decision was made unanimously by the FIFA Council, and that the integrity of the sport is of utmost importance to the organization. Kenyan football fans will be pleased to hear that their team will be able to compete again on the international stage.
In November last year, former Sports CS Amina Mohamed sent FKF president Nick Mwendwa, CEO Barry Otieno, and other FKF officials packing over allegations of misappropriation of funds at Kandanda House. This was after an audit report by the Office of the Auditor General revealed that the FKF had misappropriated over Ksh. 1 billion.
The report also pointed to several instances of nepotism and conflict of interest within the federation. Amina Mohamed made it clear that she would not tolerate such malpractice and ordered the FKF officials to step down pending investigations.
The FIFA letter to the CS detailed how the global football body would ban Kenya if the FKF elections were not held within six months as stipulated in the global football body’s statutes.
At the same time, FIFA warned the CS that failure to hold the elections within the stipulated timeframe would result in Kenya being banned from all football activities.
This, in turn, would see the country lose its membership of FIFA, as well as all the benefits that come with it.
The letter from FIFA was a clear warning to the CS that she needed to act fast in order to avoid a ban on Kenyan football.
The global body even opened room for a meeting with the embattled federation officials and the Sports Ministry to address concerns raised. This was a good move on the part of the global body, as it showed that they were willing to hear out both sides and try to come to a resolution.
However, the former sports CS did not comply with the request to reinstate the officials, and as a result, the body banned Kenya. This was a disappointing turn of events, as it dashed the hopes of many Kenyan athletes who were looking forward to competing in the upcoming event.
This was after Nick Mwendwa, the president of the Football Kenya Federation, was arrested, detained, released, re-arrested, and charged with fraud of Sh39 million.
The case is still in court and Mwendwa has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, but the Kenyan government has made it clear that they are determined to get to the bottom of the matter. If Mwendwa is found guilty, it would be a major blow to the already beleaguered football federation in Kenya.