FKF hold AGM, pass electoral code

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) held its 7th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Nairobi with the major highlights being the adoption of the electoral code and board ahead of the election set to be held in December.

Former President Sam Nyamweya’s appeal to the Sports Disputes Tribunal on Friday to stop the AGM was thrown out. He had presented the appeal in conjunction with former Secretary General Michael Esakwa.

The electoral board will be headed by Professor Edwin Wamukoya as the chairperson with Eunice Lamala serving as the secretary. Abdi Said and Elina Shiveka are the other members of the board while Sam Karanja, Viola Ochoki and Kenneth Kamenju have been drafted as substitute members. The committee will seat at the Goal Project from Monday to kick off plans for the elections which should ideally be in 60 days.

FKF boss Nick Mwendwa will be seeking the second term and in his address to the delegates at the AGM, he listed some of what he calls "major achievements" of the federation in his first term with Kenya’s participation in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations ranking highest.

“We have done a lot of positive things – trained over 2000 coaches, trained referees countrywide, we have a centre of excellence for our U15 team, improved women football but the pinnacle of all these achievements is Harambee Stars' participation in the AFCON after 15 years absence. This is work that needs to continue in a politically stable environment,” he said.

He also revealed that the federation intends to have a centre of excellence in every region. “We currently have only 30 young players at the centre but the technical team has indicated that we need to have a large pool of players to choose from and therefore it is in our plan to set up such a system in every region in the country."

Financial statements for the year ended on 31st December were approved while the proposed Sh1.4567 billion budget for 2020 was also passed unanimously by the 72 delegates who attended the AGM.

FKF aims to raise 45 per cent of the budget from Fifa grants, 48 per cent from local receipts that includes the government, 5 per cent from Safaricom’s grassroots tournament Chapa Dimba while 2 per cent from Fifa grants. A bulk of the money, 57 per cent will be used to run leagues and competitions.

Mwendwa also took to the podium to address the deep financial crisis that Kenyan football finds itself in at the moment.

FKF’s contract with the KPL Limited ends in September next year and the federation boss says they are willing to continue working with KPL under certain conditions.

“We cannot have a chairman of a club chairing the KPL as well. I am proposing we have a professional who is independently elected by delegates to serve for a term of 4 years as the chairman of the Kenyan Premier League. They (KPL) also have to operate from the Goal Project to save on costs and in tandem with our mission. We have to package all our leagues together and work in unity. These are some of the things we need to change going forward in the next AGM,” he said.

“Bamba Sport have indicated they wish to stop airing the National Super League (NSL), betting firms are exiting the game in Kenya and clubs continue to suffer. We therefore need concerted efforts to rescue our game. We have to be very creative in how we package our football in order to make it viable,” he added.

KPL CEO Jack Oguda echoed the sentiments of Mwendwa saying: “I welcome his suggestions. At these tough times what we need is stability and joint efforts to take the game forward. As KPL we are always ready to work with the federation to improve the league and football in Kenya in general.”

ABSENT

Kenya Football Coaches Association, Kenya Football Referees Association and the Kenya Football Players Welfare Association (KEFWA) did not attend the AGM as they were yet to hold elections as stipulated in the Sports Act 2013 while Kenyan Premier League side Western Stima did not send a representative. NSL side Vihiga Bullets did not send a representative as well. The club’s patron Moses Akaranga has openly declared his intention to challenge Nick Mwendwa for the top seat.

According to the new electoral code, any person hoping to vie for the federation's top seat must have a running mate. The duo must also get clearance from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) and also get a Certificate of Good Conduct from the Kenya Police.

Over and above that they have to pay Sh400,000 nomination fees. The elections in December will be preceded by branch elections. The number of delegates will increase from 78 to 98 as the counties system that was passed in last year’s AGM comes into effect this year. Each county in Kenya will now have an FKF branch with Nairobi having two. This in effect increases FKF branches from 20 to 48.