Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards fans chant on the streets of Nairobi ahead of
the Mashemeji Derby on June 8, 2014. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
The silly season is with us again and at this moment every foolish deed seems to attract applause.
Of course the league ended without the match between Sony Sugar and AFC Leopards being decided.
The
main issue has been the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), which has
consistently and in bad faith, thwarted every move towards completion.
The
managers of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL had slated the match to be
played this month and true to their word, the posse at FKF has already
warned all referees not to umpire the match and that any who disregards
this sad directive shall be suspended from all ‘footballing’ (sic)
activities. That is the latest spanner thrown into the works.
The
beef between FKF and KPL is still raging and it seems the people who
have been bequeathed the duty of managing football in the country are
hell bent on killing it.
FORCE THINGS
The
issue of a 16-team league and 18-team league has intensified and both
sides have not given any reason why they want to force things against
each other.
It is a showdown fuelled by greed for
sponsor money even though it is clothed in rhetoric and power struggle.
Don’t be fooled, these people are salivating in the most pitiful manner
possible and football is the furthest thing in their money fevered
brains.
FKF has demanded that the Kenyan Premier
League, which is also known as the Tusker Premier League (TPL), be
renamed into a mouthful monster called Football Kenya Federation Premier
League (FKFPL).
Since they have kept mum on the
sponsors, it is logical to assume they want it renamed Football Kenya
Federation Tusker Premier League (FKFTPL). What they smoke in those
offices is very potent.
Name aside; they demand that
they run the Premiership just as they run all the lower leagues. The
mess in the lower division leagues is only screened from view by the
tidiness of the Premier League. In that jungle, which is ‘managed’ by
FKF, everything is possible.
Docking of points to
favour some teams is very normal; not paying referees is very
commendable; disappearance of match commissar and referees’ reports
invites shouts of approval. It is a harsh world in that crowded realm.
That
is what FKF wants the Premier League to become; tidiness is something
too foreign to their way of thinking if they ever indulge in the luxury
of thought.
On Thursday, President Uhuru Kenyatta hosted the GOtv Shield winners Sofapaka at State House.
The
President, angered by recent events, urged FKF and KPL to stop
wrangling and nurture talent. He said: “Football managers are
responsible for mismanaging our national talent. Football managers, stop
wasteful squabbling. Our sports investors are here to help us grow our
football let us allow them and let us not interfere with those
supporting us grow our sports.”
FKF keeps on drumming
the fact that they are the only group recognised by Fifa and Caf. That
is true even when that recognition is stifling and choking the country.
The
Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Hassan Wario, who has kept mum over the
saga, broke his silence and supported the President. His view is that
FKF stop meddling in the league affairs.
That stirred
our posse into a tirade of word slamming the CS in the silliest manner
possible. They even accused Mr Wario of never having attended any match.
They said: “As a federation, we do not remember the
last time the cabinet secretary for sports ever stepped foot in the
stadium to watch a local premier league match which puts him in a
situation whereby he is not in touch with what is going on in the top
tier league…” So, FKF is the only one in touch with what is going on?
They
threatened the CS with the stock in trade statement that Fifa will ban
Kenya if there is political interference. Harambee Stars is lackluster
but if you talk about it, you are courting Fifa ban; Accounts are not
kept transparently and we should all keep mum for fear of a Fifa ban;
the lower division leagues are a slum but Fifa may ban us; FKF wants to
disrupt the Premier League but Fifa may ban us if we try to save the
league: Fifa may ban us for all we care but this time round we must save
our football.
The Sports CS should not give them
peace till they tone down. Let Fifa ban us but this time around, we
shall clean our football with laser beams to kill all the vermin. A
two-year ban is welcome relief hoping they may fade away
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