An unpopular boardroom decision made on Monday, May 17, 2021 by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) could expose the top tier league to the threats of serious match-fixing.
Kenya is currently battling the ghosts of match fixing that saw FIFA slap Zoo FC with a heavy sanction after the Kericho side was relegated to the Division One. Zoo was found culpable of match fixing dating back to the 2018 season.
CAF had written to FKF to send the name of the teams that will represent the country at the 2011/22 CAF champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
But with the local league having resumed last weekend, after two months suspension due to the government order following the rise of the number of positive cases of Covid-19 in March, the federation now finds itself in a race against time to beat the CAF deadline.
But FKF, in a statement pulled off another shocker with the unpopular pronouncement that the team that shall be leading the standing by the end of June shall be granted the ticket to partake of the continental football next year.
“Considering that the league might not conclude before aforementioned dates (June 30) the FKF competition committee resolved that the FKF Premier League representative at the CAF Champions League shall be the team at the top of the table, as at June 30, 2021,” read a statement by Barry Otieno, the federation CEO.
Football Kenya Federation CEO Barry Otieno. Photo/Standard
Curiously, Otieno released a statement touching on CAF activities despite the fact that he’s currently serving a ban by the continental football mother body.
On January 23, 2021, Otieno together with Team Manager Ronny Oyando, was handed a six-month ban from all football related activities after the duo was found guilty of gross misconduct during Harambee Stars AFCON Qualifying match away in Comoros.
“On the day of the match the General Secretary of the Comoros Football Federation came in early to take their PCR tests, and he was met with refusal from the Kenyan national team’s management, they delayed the process for three hours until they finally gave in,” read the statement from CAF.
“The test results arrived just a few minutes before kick-off, during the warm-up, due to the said delay. The Commissioner did not get the chance to check the results himself as Barry Otieno, the General Secretary of the Football Kenya Federation, and Ronny Oyando, the Kenyan team manager disputed the results as soon as they had become aware of them and snatched them from his hands and tore them apart.
“According to the PCR tests copies that were acquired after the match, four players have all tested positive before the match yet took part in the game and risked the contamination of the opposing team as well as their fellow teammates and all officials that were involved in match 94 of the Total Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Impose a ban of 6 month
“In terms of CAF Statutes and Regulations, in terms of the Covid-19 FAQs and in terms of Articles 82, 83, 133, 134 and 98 of CAF Disciplinary Code, the CAF Disciplinary Board has decided to: impose a ban of 6 [six] months on Otieno from all football activities relating to CAF, impose a ban of 6 [six] months on Oyando from all football activities relating to CAF and impose upon your Federation a financial sanction of 20.000 USD (Twenty Thousand US Dollars approximately S),” read CAF statement.
Despite the CAF ban, Otieno has continued to discharge his duties.
But the latest communique now exposes Kenya football to the threat of match fixing in the next round of matches, considering that clubs have already known their opponents, meaning that these teams fighting for the top finish can easily approach opponents to influence the outcome of the matches.
Another question that remains unanswered is what will happen to the league after June 30. It remains to be seen whether the season will proceed beyond the stated date. Most importantly, the biggest question still to be answered is why clubs should continue honouring matches knowing that there is really nothing to fight for.
