Muhoroni, Sofapaka relegated, KCB and Vihiga earn promotion

Football Kenya Federation on Thursday relegated Sofapaka and Muhoroni Youth from the SportPesa Premier League for failing to meet the Caf Club Licensing threshold and promoted Vihiga United and KCB to the top tier.

Thika United, who had failed to meet the criteria the first time, have been re-admitted to the top tier after resubmitting their documents.

National Super League teams Vihiga United and KCB have met the club licensing criteria and have earned automatic promotion to the top flight.

With the transfer window for the top tier league already closed, FKF said the two promoted clubs will have no extension to sign new players ahead of the 2017 season.

The federation chief Nick Mwendwa said Muhoroni and Sofapaka have 14 days to appeal the decision to the Fifa Court of Arbitration.

“As I said earlier we aim to take football to grassroots, to expand football for better inclusion and representation throughout the country.

“We are also very committed to the adherence of set regulations. We want to do things right and those who cannot corporate will have to face the consequences.

“We are now done with club licensing for this year, and this is something we shall be doing every year to ensure that all clubs in the national league meet certain requirements before the commencement of a new season.

“We gave Muhoroni and Sofapaka two chances to do things right and they failed both times. However, they can seek recourse at the Court of Arbitration and we shall be happy to reinstate them to the Premier League if they manage to comply with the set standards,” he said.

Howver, Sofapaka president Elly Kalekwa has dismissed the committee’s ruling as baseless and malicious.

“These are just games being played but as far as I am concerned, Sofapaka is in the Premier League to stay. The law is clear that a club can only be relegated at the pitch and not inside the boardroom.

“We tried and submitted all the paperwork they want and I can tell you now that there is no player who is owed arrears by my club. And even if we didn’t meet the criteria, the most FKF could have done is to administer a fine but not make such outrageous decisions. They do not have that power.

“If Sofapaka is not in the league then there will be no football in 2017. We shall explore all avenues including Fifa to ensure that reason prevails and that we do not become victims of the power struggles between FKF and KPL,” he said.

According to the FKF Appeals Committee, Sofapaka and Muhoroni failed to meet the mandatory Criteria A of the Club licensing regulations that shows proof of a club’s financial stability as well as an irreproachable legal track record.

The Adan Mohammed-led committee also observed that ten clubs (among them Palos and Police FC) met the standard requirements and were candidates of promotion to the top flight.

For this, KCB and Vihiga United, who finished in fifth and sixth position on the NSL log, were the two teams eligible for promotion to replace the relegated clubs.

This development now means that six clubs (Nzoia United, Kariobangi Sharks, Nakumatt, Zoo Kericho, Vihiga United and KCB) have been promoted from the second division league, bringing the number of teams legible for KPL this year to 18.

It brings to an end the long standing dispute between FKF and the League organisers regarding the expansion of the league, and FKF is now expected to inject Sh36.1 Million to facilitate the expanded league format.

KPL caved in to the federation’s demands to expand the league and incorporate two more teams last Thursday after a joint meeting that lasted five hours.

Despite this, there still remained uncertainty regarding the league composition since Sofapaka, Muhoroni Youth and Thika United had been relegated at the end of last year for failure to meet the minimum threshold for club licensing, leaving only 15 teams in the top flight.

The reinstatement of Thika United together with the promotion of Vihiga and KCB now seals the matter, paving way for the league kick off initially scheduled for February 11.