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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Echoes of Fifa poll in FKF elections

Football

By ROBIN TOSKIN | May 28, 2015

FKF-KPL AND FIFA
KPL's Ambrose Rachier, left, FIFA representative Kwesi Nyantakyi and President FKF Sam Nyamweya during a reconciliatory meeting between FKF and KPL at Hotel Norfolk, Nairobi, on Monday, March 23rd, 2015. PHOTO/ JONAH ONYANGO.

The arrest of six top Fifa officials, including Vice President Jeffrey Webb, in Zurich yesterday echoes the bigger problem the world football governing body is facing as millions of fans watch in disbelief.

Fifa goes to the polls tomorrow, with incumbent Sepp Blatter set to win through what observers see as an undemocratic process and an insult to the world's most popular sport.

Echoes of Blatter's campaign tactics and now the tribulations of his lieutenants at the hands of law enforcement agencies can also be heard locally as Football Kenya Federation (FKF) gears up for its own elections in November.

FKF has come under a barrage of criticism over its lack of transparency, but has always been cleared by Fifa, making it difficult for local authorities to prefer charges.

FKF President Sam Nyamweya, who is facing growing opposition, is attending the General Assembly before flying back to prepare for an annual general meeting slated for Kisii on June 26, which is expected to be a showdown with his growing list of opponents.

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For all practical purposes, the FKF AGM will set the platform for the much-anticipated polls later this year.

Before leaving for Zurich on Tuesday for the 65th General Assembly of Fifa, Nyamweya, aware of the onslaught on his tenure, made a whirlwind tour of several of the 20 FKF branches.

His impromptu tour of the branches triggered an outcry from some of his lieutenants, who seem to have been alienated from Nyamweya's establishment.

Nyamweya's trip to Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza reads like a page straight out of Blatter's tactics book as captured by Gigi Alford and Sam DuPont last week on www.foreignpolicy.com.

“With rumors swirling that Blatter could no longer count on the votes of the 25 Caribbean nations in the upcoming election, he made a special trip to the Bahamas last month, where he promised to spread $150 to $180 million in development grants over the next four-year term,” wrote foreignpolicy.com.

FeverPitch understands that a group of officials drawn from 16 branches of FKF's 20 are due to meet in Nairobi tomorrow to chart the way forward ahead of the June 26 gathering in Kisii.

Question is; will Blatter’s rulebook play a role in the FKF elections?