Court ruling sets off another KPL and FKF war

What you need to know:

  • Tuesday’s decision to allow the two teams back in the league appears to be a win for FKF, who have been advocating for an expanded league.

The Court of Appeal’s decision to reinstate Nakumatt and Zoo Kericho may have offered temporary reprieve to the two clubs, but it is yet another ugly mark in the long standing tussle among football administrators in the country.

Tuesday’s decision to allow the two teams back in the league appears to be a win for FKF, who have been advocating for an expanded league.

“We shouldn’t be playing in the courts. We are very happy because now the players can go do what they do best. We shall be back here on October 3 to get the full ruling. We are very happy as FKF,” said FKF president Nick Mwendwa.

The Sports Disputes Tribunal ruling made a ruling allowing for the league to be expanded from 16 to 18 teams at the beginning of this year following years of dispute between FKF and KPL.

Contrary to a similar case at the beginning of this year where KPL clubs Muhoroni Youth and Sofapaka were facing the axe for failing to comply with club licensing rules, the league organisers neither asked to be enjoined in the case against Nakumatt and Zoo, and neither did they offer any form of resistance against the ruling.

DUO REINSTATED

The Phillip Waki-led bench has now allowed the two teams to continue featuring in the top tier until a full ruling is made next month, but questions still abound about whether this will end the wars between KPL and FKF.

“We have no option other than obey the (court) order. We respect the Rule of Law,” KPL Chief Executive Officer Jack Oguda said.

Oguda, together with the other members of the KPL Governing Council, have against the idea of expanding the league, an issue which has severally led to delays in the league’s kick off.

It is this issue also, that precipitated the abrupt departure of broadcast sponsors SuperSport at the beginning of the year, a situation that saw KPL slash its budgets almost to half.

FAILED TO ISSUE WAY FORWARD

The Court of Appeal’s decision also failed to offer a way forward regarding Club Licensing rules which were suspended indefinitely by the High Court a fortnight ago.

This is a another hot issue since without club licensing, Kenyan clubs risk being thrown out of Caf competitions such as Caf Champions League and Caf Confederation Cup.

“Club licensing is an integral part of football governance right now and Caf are clear that they will not allow unlicensed clubs to take part in their competitions,” Mwendwa said last week.

Meanwhile, FKF have stated that they will take action against former president Sam Nyamweya who took this matter to court in stark contravention of stipulated Fifa rules.