Sports official decries football stalemate

Commissioner for sports, Gordon Oluoch [left] gives a trophy to Captain of Dubai team during Samba Foundation final cup between Dubai FC and Wazee FC at Mary cliff ground in Mombasa. Bubai won 1--0. Looking on is Samba Foundation Chief Executive officer, Tobias Samba[centre] 8th December 2014. Photo Omondi Onyango/Standard

The Government said it was disappointed by the turn of events in football management.

Commissioner for Sports Gordon Oluoch said it was wrong for Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to set up another body to organise the top tier league.

He was reacting to an announcement by FKF that it had withdrawn the mandate of organising the league from the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) and that it has formed FKF Premier League to organise the league from February 14.

“You don’t solve a problem by creating a new body. We find the behaviour (by FKF) strange. Somebody must be hiding something from Kenyans,” said Oluoch, who spoke to FeverPitch on the sidelines of the national doping conference at Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi.

Meanwhile, AFC Leopards Secretary General George Aladwa has said wrangles between FKF and KPL would affect football standards even as he backed an 18-team league.

“They need to work together and each to play its own role. We fully support an 18-team league due to the benefits therein,” he said.

Gor Vice Chairman John Pesa said his club will take part in a league where “other Kenyan clubs will play.”

Pesa said KPL and FKF should adhere to the Fifa consultant’s report in deciding the composition of the 2015 top league.

“The report should be made public and both parties comply with it,” he said.

Tusker FC Chairman James Musyoki supported KPL.

“I stand by the KPL. Even Fifa saw there was no need to expand the league as it would weaken our players and lower the level of competition,”  said James Musyoki, Tusker chairman.

“As KPL, we don’t know anything about an 18-league team. It’s high time we accepted the truth and stop politicising the beautiful game... KPL and FKF must work in tandem for our teams to perform well continentally and internationally,” Elly Kalekwa, Sofapaka Chairman.

Ulinzi Stars chairman Lt Col JS Mwinyikai remained non-committal.

“Unless I read the Fifa report, I can’t comment,” he said.