Why Kenya must engage Fifa and CAF

When embattled Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa was bundled out of office and charged in court over corruption allegations, there was hope local football was going to be streamlined.

There was excitement among football fans after a Caretaker Committee was put in place to run football.

That excitement was, however, dampened on Wednesday when the Aaron Ringera-led committee was forced to disband Harambee Starlets camp which was preparing to play Uganda in a 2022 African Women's Cup of Nations qualifier.

The girls had been in camp at Kasarani for 21 days, but after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) failed to respond to a letter from the Committee there was no choice but to ask the girls to go home and forget about playing at the AWCON finals. Kenya was to face Uganda away in their first leg match on Wednesday before a return leg on February 22, but the two-legged fixture was cancelled last month after CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba received a letter from former FKF CEO Barry Otieno claiming the Kenyan FA was unable to independently plan and successfully execute any international matches.

The failure by CAF to respond to the Caretaker Committee seems to tell us that the world football governing body Fifa and CAF have stood with the disbanded FKF officials since the Caretaker Committee was installed by Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed on November 11 2021 and Kenyan teams risk being locked out of upcoming Fifa organised competitions.

While we appreciate what the Sports CS is doing, we also want to ask her to take it a step further and ensure she meets with Fifa and CAF officials and explain to them the Kenyan situation and ask for help from the two bodies.

We know the Caretaker Committee's mandate was among other things organise for FKF elections. That should still remain a priority as the CS goes ahead to streamline local football. But unfortunately if the current Caretaker Committee goes ahead and conduct the elections, Fifa and CAF might still recognise the disbanded federation. This is why Amina needs to act fast.

As it stands, Fifa and CAF feel the Government has interfered with the management of the game thus the need of a Normalisation Committee with the blessings of the two bodies before the polls.

If this is not done, then we risk having another situation like what happened to Harambee Starlets. The same could happen to the FKF-Premier League winners who will want to play in the CAF Champions League and Cup winners who are supposed to play in the Confederations Cup as well as the upcoming 2023 AFCON qualifiers.