FKF and clubs must sort out sponsorship

Two Football Kenya Federation-Premier League (FKF-PL) teams were suspended this week by the federation. According to a letter from FKF, Mathare United and Zoo Kericho have been given 48 hours to sign a StarTimes endorsement deal for them to participate in the top tier league.

The two clubs are among others who have been against the new broadcast deal. Several clubs have however signed the deal and have already played in the three-week old league. What has come out from the stand-off is that it seems the FKF and the clubs have some issues that need to be ironed out.

While we may agree with the concerns raised by the clubs and the reasons why FKF want them to sign the deal, the parties should be aware that the standoff is only hurting the game further.

It is good to see that FKF found sponsors for the league, but the sponsors will not be happy when all the teams are not on board.

And while the officials may not be affected most by the standoff, the players stand to lose out in a big way. The players have been out of action for close to nine months and were looking forward to playing once again when action resumed three weeks ago.

We therefore ask FKF and clubs to sit down and sort out the issues at hand and let the players enjoy the game. If the standoff continues there is even the risk of the parties concerned going to court and the league could be stopped. Covid-19 has disrupted sporting activities in a big way that internal wrangling should not be tolerated at all. Players and fans want real action on the field and not in boardrooms.