By GILBERT WANDERA

AFC Leopards’ Paul Were (left) dribbles the ball past Michael Dessta of Ethiopia Defence SC during their CAF Confederation Cup match at Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday. [PHOTO: BONIFACE OKENDO/STANDARD]

The Kenyan Premier League (KPL) kicks-off this weekend after a long break but defending champions Gor Mahia will not be in action as they travel to Libreville, Gabon, for continental duty.

Former champions Mathare United are away in Kakamega where they will be seeking to pick maximum points against Western Stima on Saturday.

New comers Nakuru Top Fry will also start away against Sony Sugar at Awendo Green Stadium as Sofapaka travel to Muhoroni Youth in another interesting fixture on Saturday.

Elsewhere, local football  authorities have announced tough new rules aimed at curbing hooliganism in the country.

For the first time, any club whose fans cause abandonment of matches will be docked points in a move that will directly affect the teams’ campaign in the KPL.

The new move is in line with what happens in major leagues in the world and is the first serious attempt to stamp out hooliganism.

Governing council

The rules were approved during a governing council meeting held in Naivasha at the weekend with all club chairmen present to approve the motion, which will certainly affect some of them before the season ends.

According to KPL Chief Executive Jack Oguda, the meeting also gave clubs the responsibility to control their fans.

“Clubs will be resposible for the conduct of their fans. They will be required to identify those who cause trouble and we will take them to court,” he said in a statement.

Oguda also said the  council called for the establishment of a special force to deal with hooliganism as well as training of policemen to deal with crowd trouble. The meeting resolved that police will not be allowed to get inside stadia with tear gas.

Charity Cup

Last weekend, violence erupted during the Kenya Power Charity Cup held at Nyayo National Stadium.

In another major announcement, KPL announced new player transfer rules and fees. The KPL governing council announced that clubs will be required to release players at least 21 days before the window closes.

“If a club fails to adhere to this then they will be required to pay a player until the next transfer window,” said a statement from Mr Oguda.

The meeting also warned both clubs and players to follow and respect their respective contractual obligations.

“Both parties must adhere to their contractual obligations. Failure to do this will result in the matter being taken to the Independent Disciplinary and Appeals Committee (Idac),” said Oguda.

The meeting further resolved that fees payable for players’ transfer in the top league have been doubled to Sh30,000 from Sh15,000.

Transfer fees for players in the lower league have been increased from Sh5,000 to Sh15,000.          — gwandera@standardmedia.co.ke