KPL urges Fifa to probe Shabana FC promotion
Football
By
FeverPitch Reporter
| Jan 29, 2015
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| Fans celebrate with Shabana FC Goalkeeper Suleiman Mwasiri after a 2-0 victory against Finlays Horticulture FC from Kericho. |
Kenyan Premier League (KPL) has asked world football governing body, Fifa, to investigate alleged malpractices in the FKF National Super League and urged Zurich to investigate how Shabana were promoted to the top tier league.
KPL enclosed documents detailing the alleged malpractices in the NFL and how Fifa statutes were flouted to pave the way for Shabana to get promotion to the top league.
Dubbed KPL dossier on serious sports integrity issues and violations of the Fifa/FKF promotion/relegation and other rules, the documents were sent to Fifa Ethics Committee after the KPL Governing Council Meeting on December 11, last year.
“On Zone B of the FKF National Super League (NSL), members raised serious concerns about the large number of boardroom points favouring Shabana FC, which were all awarded late in the season.
“The members also noted with dismay that FKF, despite pending appeals by aggrieved clubs to the Independent Disciplinary and Appeals Committee (IDAC), still proceeded to announce the promotion of Shabana FC. The members agreed to refer the matter to the Fifa Ethics Committee,” says the report.
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On January 9, 2015, the KPL officially submitted a dossier to the Investigatory Chamber of the Fifa Ethics Committee in compliance with Article 18 on ‘Duty of disclosure, co-operation and reporting” in the Fifa Code of Ethics.
The violations of the statutes involve Shabana FC in the second tier National Super League. “It is relevant to note that the FKF President was Chairman of Shabana FC from 2001 and was elected the patron of the club in January 2014,” says the report.
It focuses on the final two months of last season’s NSL, when Shabana were favoured on 14 boardroom points. Four of the five cases should have been time barred under the FKF three-month rule for filing cases. St Josephs, Agro Chemicals and Kericho Zoo were the aggrieved clubs with complaints against Shabana. In one of the matches, Shabana fielded suspended players. There was also allegations of match fixing submitted by St Joseph.