Solve issue of leagues amicably

What you need to know:

  • After the election of the new Football Kenya Federation officials, they promised to ensure sanity prevails in the management of leagues.
  • A few weeks ago, FKF president Nick Mwendwa, issued a stern warning against unsanctioned leagues.
  • A letter from FKF chief executive officer Robert Muthomi warning that clubs that take part in such leagues face a six-year-ban, did not go down well with the management of Extreme Sports Limited, which runs the Super 8 Leagues.

There is the tale of a man who went to bed and dreamt that he was heavily pregnant and in awful labour pains. He saw himself wheeled into the maternity by a large group of concerned nurses and doctors, who were urging him to “push”.

The poor fellow pushed and pushed until he woke up with his pyjama full of his own waste matter! He had relieved himself in bed.

The story is obviously fake, but there is a lot that we can learn from it. We took a break from this column to concentrate on Team Kenya’s exploits at the Rio Olympic Games, which ended last Sunday.

We only realised that the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) officials had been dreaming, as usual, that they will get away with the management fiasco we witnessed during the Games. Even after they had embarrassed the country, they pushed and pushed; the result was similar to what happened in the earlier tale.

Athletics is not my cup of tea, though, so let me turn back to football matters.

After the election of the new Football Kenya Federation (FKF) officials, they promised to ensure sanity prevails in the management of leagues.

On the face of it, that statement sounds simple, until one considers its full ramifications. In actual sense, it means no other leagues will take place unless they have the blessings of FKF.

ISSUED STERN WARNING

A few weeks ago, FKF president Nick Mwendwa, issued a stern warning against unsanctioned leagues. “No one is allowed to start his/her own league, or it will be considered as private, FKF will not recognise the coaches, players or match officials who take part in it.”

A letter from FKF chief executive officer Robert Muthomi warning that clubs that take part in such leagues face a six- year-ban, did not go down well with the management of Extreme Sports Limited, which runs the Super 8 Leagues.

The firm’s head of operations and coordination, Athanas “Obango” Oballa trashed the warning, terming it as hypocrisy of the highest order.

He said their mandate is to offer the youth a platform to grow their talents. He said they have sought FKF’s participation in their leagues but to no avail. Daggers are drawn, and in this supremacy battle it is the teams, players and officials who will bear the brunt.

There are many grassroots teams taking part in the Super 8 Leagues, banning all of them will be very harsh and self-defeating for a federation that is seeking to develop football.

FKF claims Extreme Sports have not sought sanctioning from the federation. But Oballa accuses Mwendwa of being “too bossy”.

All said and done, the federation must seek a path that is devoid of conflict so that the issue is solved amicably. Failure to do that shall be like our earlier dreamer with the encouragement to “push harder”...we may soil the pyjamas of football in this country! Shalom.