Football Kenya Federation's Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was to be held in Kisii County on June 26, 2015, aborted for a myriad of reasons as the intrigues and bad blood between warring factions within the federation intensified.
The incumbent President of Football Kenya Federation (FKF), Sam Nyamweya, called off the meeting citing insecurity, given the high number of delegates who turned up for the AGM. Ordinarily, with 20 branches each sending two representatives, clubs, coaches, referees, players and women football teams each sending a representative, the expectation was that the attendance would be 78 delegates, but over 300 are said to have turned up.
The inference from this is that there are undercurrents arising from vested interests that do not bode well for the future of soccer in the country. Already, club football is at an all-time low as wrangles distract federation officials and players. FKF's mandate expires in November. FKF's constitution stipulates that elections must be held in October to facilitate a smooth hand-over in case the incumbent office loses out to a challenger.
Part of the aborted meeting's agenda was to set modalities for the elections which, given the current stand-off, are shrouded in uncertainties. The reconstitution of branches to have each of the 47 counties become a branch was also to be deliberated. Currently, there are 20 branches. Also on the agenda was the presentation of the consolidated and revised balance sheet and profit and loss statement. Needless to say, the control of the unregulated financial resources at the disposal of FKF is the genesis of the trouble within the federation.
Conservatively, local football is worth Sh1billion per year from club sponsorships, gate collections, the affiliation fee paid by clubs that ranges between Sh10,000 and Sh20,000 depending on the league tier and Sh74,250,000 sponsorship from football world governing body, Fifa. While Fifa's sponsorship is geared towards infrastructural development and youth development, there is pretty little evidence of this.
Given the constant wrangles in the federation, Kenya has been unable to receive 1,240 balls that Fifa regularly gives out to member countries to assist in development of the sport. Notwithstanding the fact that Fifa rules bar governments from interfering with football activities on the pain of expulsion, we are at a point where the Government must intervene to save the sport, even if it means incurring Fifa's wrath.
Football is a social activity that brings people of diverse cultures and backgrounds together, yet in Kenya, it has succeeded in achieving the opposite. It is inconceivable, as alleged, that individuals who purport to have the interests of the sport at heart would actually carry thugs from a criminal gang like the China Boys to the venue of a football meeting.
Unless the Government takes firm control, there is likely to be bloodshed during FKF's elections, and that is the last thing that Kenyans want. It is high time both sides observed the dictates of decorum and the rule of law in upholding the ideals of football. Fifa's motto, after all, centres around fair game. The continued poor performance of local teams means that in the foreseeable future, Kenyan clubs will always start at the lowest of African competitions because of poor management. This shouldn't be the case.
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