Why Mwendwa, FKF NEC should pack and go

Harambee Stars players Victor Wanyama and Michael Olunga when the team arrived from Egypt on November 16, 2019. [FKF Media]

Fifa should constitute a Normalisation Committee immediately to save Kenya from being ejected from the 2022 World Cup qualifiers after Football Kenya Federation (FKF) defaulted in paying former coach Adel Amrouche Sh109million arbitral award, former AFC Leopards chairman Alex ole Magelo has said.

Also calling for FKF NEC’s immediate departure was Bandari FC Board of Trustees member Twaha Mbarak, who said Harambee Stars players will pay with their dreams of playing at the World Cup for individuals’ mistakes.

The two leaders were reacting to the imminent removal of Harambee Stars from the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers after failing to meet the deadline yesterday.

Standard Sports has learnt that on April 20 FKF, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, asked Fifa for more time to comply with Court of Arbitration for Sport’s directive to pay Amrouche.

Magelo, who is also a former Nairobi County Assembly speaker said Mwendwa acted unilaterally and ended up mismanaging Amrouche’s case, which has left Harambee Stars on the verge of exiting 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers without kicking a ball.

“What Nick should do, with immediate effect, is to pack, handover to a Normalisation Committee and go,” Magelo said.

He added: “Nick never involved the stakeholders over Adel Amrouche’s issue. When I asked him to call stakeholders so that we deliberate on what to do with Amrouche and approaching government in a more dignified manner, he went playing around giving the government ultimatums and threatening Kenyans that oh, we are going to be thrown out of the World Cup.”

“Kicking Harambee Stars out of the Fifa World Cup is hard to contemplate, given it an individual’s mistake. Notwithstanding that Fifa officer Veron Mosengo-Omba errored in his judgment to insist that Nick stays in office despite the Tribunal’s ruling that his term was over, we respect Fifa all the same.

“Fifa should reciprocate and immediately appoint a normalisation Committee comprising men and women of integrity and credible in the management of football in this country.”

Twaha said football is a peoples’ game yet, unfortunately, Kenya finds itself in a precarious position because of the actions of an individual.

“We demand that Nick Mwendwa and his executive, which the Sports Disputes Tribunal confirmed their term of office has ended should handover the institution to a Normalisation Committee. The national football team carries the hopes and aspirations of a country. Therefore, the Kenyan government should consult, as a matter of urgency, with Fifa to ensure Harambee Star are not thrown out,” Twaha said.

“The manner in which they handled Amrouche’s case demonstrates why they were wrong the people at the federation in the first place. The government, through the Sports Ministry should move to secure the national football team’s space in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers,” Twaha said.