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Who among eight candidates will pull Kenya out of its foo
Photo/JOSEPH KANYI/NATION
Football stakeholders go through a register outside Ellemos conference hall in Nyeri town on October 10 as voter registration and inspection exercise for the national football elections kicked off. The exercise, organised by the Fifa-appointed Independent Electoral Board, went on until October 15. The elections will be held on October 29.
This Saturday, Kenyan football goes to polls that may usher in a new era in Kenyan football and end years of impunity, wrangles, infighting and mismanagement of the local sport.
Eight candidates are battling for chairmanship making this election the most hotly contested in the history of Kenyan football.
It is a unique election that have been ordered by world soccer governing body Fifa to bring together warring groups-the Kenya Football Federation and the Football Kenya Limited.
In the race are Sam Nyamewa, the chairman of KFF; Mohammed Hatimy, the chairman of FKL’ Extreme Sports director Mohammed Hussein; Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier; Twaha Mbarak, who has been the vice-chairman of KFF; former KFF secretary Sammy Obingo; former Gor Mahia striker Fred Awich; and the only female candidate, Solwodi Ladies Sports Association director Elizabeth Shako.
The elections will be handled by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), which entered into an agreement with the Fifa-appointed Independent Electoral Board (IEB).
Coming after a period of a serious collapse of the country’s football, Kenyans are yearning for a new dispensation.
The national team is at its worst ever ranking in the world, at 137, while clubs are performing dismally in the continental and regional competitions.
Key word
The key word for all contestants – including those who have been there before – is “Change” and “A New beginning”.
The elections are as a result of the realisation by Fifa that it made a mistake to accept the formation of a private company-the FKL to run the sport in Kenya in 2008.
Since then, Kenyan soccer has never known peace, KFF’s Sam Nyamweya went to the International Court of Arbitration of Sport accusing Fifa of breaching its own statutes in allowing the formation of FKL.
“Football is by association. We cannot allow a game played by all Kenyans to be run by three individuals,” said Nyamweya in going to the CAS.
Then in December last year, Fifa directed that Kenya holds a joint election, bringing together clubs affiliated to both KFF and FKL after which the new office to be elected will transform the office to an association from a company.
Saturday is the D-day. We profile the candidates for the chairmanship.
