FKF, just forget about extension of term limits

Sports
By Washington Onyango | Jun 18, 2025
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Hussein Mohammed (centre) with his Deputy McDonald Mariga (right) and CEO Harold Ndege (left). [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

"The issue with Kenyan football is not term limits but lack of broadcasting and sponsorship."

The above statement resonates with majority of local football stakeholders and fans after the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) called for the extension of their elected leaders' term of office as the review process of the Sports Act begun this week.

FKF Chief Executive Officer Harold Ndege submitted the federation's proposal to the multi stakeholder tusk-force that is currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the policy, legal and institutional framework of sports in Kenya.

Ndege, who assumed office this year, tabled the issue of term limit as one of the federation's three proposals to the team.

"FKF proposes that the term limit be increased from four years to five years to be in tandem to the national government's term limit of five years," Ndege said.

Kisumu All Starlets chairman Levi Juma urged stakeholders to reject the new administration's move pushing to extend their term limits to five years.

Juma, who voted during last year's FKF elections that saw Hussein Mohammed replace Nick Mwendwa as President of football in the country, said the office should concentrate on actualising their promises rather than fighting to extend their term limits.

"The new office we elected is mandated to serve Kenyans for four years. If we extend their term limit to five years, who will be accountable for the one extra year?

"This is politics. You cannot compare football administration with Kenyan politics where if the President and MPs serve five years, FKF also serves five years. This is unacceptable," said Juma.

"The best course of action for Mohammed's team is to get Kenyan football to the standards it deserves. Bring sponsors, improve the commercial revenue of the league, weed out corruption and fund clubs."

Kenyans on social media joined Juma in asking the federation tough questions in regards to their greedy power move.

"What do they plan to achieve in five years that they can't achieve in four years?" asked Lewis Isaboke on his X platform.

"Is the national government the same thing as FKF? Was there any other reason for such a proposal apart from wanting to be at par with the National Government?" Gerald Ochieng asked.

Kenyan football is set for a major transformation following FKF's proposal that will reduce the number of top-flight teams from 18 to 16 and bring back the familiar name, the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).

This move marks a shift away from the current FKF Premier League (FKF-PL) and is part of a larger plan aimed at making the game more competitive and organised across the country.

Starting from the 2025/2026 season, the top-tier men's football league will still run with 18 teams, but this will only be temporary.

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