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FKF elections: I'm nobody's project, Barry Otieno says
FKF presidential candidate Barry Otieno (left) with his running mate Lucy Kageni at Kandanda House in Nairobi on October 14, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Barry Otieno previously served as FKF’s head of communication before being elevated to the CEO post.
- Otieno said that his relationship with outgoing FKF president Nick Mwendwa has since broken down.
When Barry Otieno resigned as the secretary of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) on October 8, 2024 and announced that he would contest the federation’s presidency five days later, many viewed him as a project of the outgoing President Nick Mwendwa.
Otieno served as FKF’s secretary from June 22, 2019, having taken over from Robert Muthoni. He is the longest ever serving FKF CEO, having occupied the seat five years.
He had previously served as FKF’s head of communication before taking over the FKF secretary post.
“Nick’s project is Doris Petra and since I resigned from the federation, we have not spoken. Nick was not eligible to run and I have never been his project anywhere as is being purported,” Otieno said.
“I was approached by delegates to run and that is how I announced my candidature. I have not betrayed him. I stood with Mwendwa even when Fifa said he should not run the federation. I and Doris were to be in charge but we gave him free space and hand at the federation,” he explained.
Otieno said that his relationship with Mwendwa has since broken down, and they are not as close as they once were when they were working together.
“The project tag is based on my relationship with him before and not now. I have a lot in store for football and that is why I decided to run. Mwendwa never pushed me to vie for the seat,” Otieno says.
Otieno has absolved himself from blame for the failures at the federation, saying his core role was offer advice but not implementation of the said policies.
Born on May 21, 1983 in Huruma Estate at the outskirts of Nairobi, Otieno attended Valley Bridge Primary School in the estate, then proceeded to Pehill High School in Nyanza.
He is a holder of a diploma in Broadcast Journalism, and worked for government as information officer for nine years before joining FKF. Otieno holds Bachelors Degree in Communication and Public Relations from Moi University.
Otieno says he intends to build a stronger, more inclusive, and more successful footballing nation.
He intends to achieve this through leadership beyond the pitch in the following four areas; Club empowerment, holistic development, improved governance and grassroot to glory.
“You can judge me by looking at my track record. I began playing football at the age of seven and worked around the management of football for eight years, five of which are at a senior role at the federation,” says Otieno.
Among all the candidates, he says he is the only one who has picked a running mate from the branch level, an indication that he will build grassroots football.
His running mate is the outgoing Nyandarua FKF chairman Lucy Kageni and the duo have been traversing the country wooing delegates to their side.
“We should empower branches. It is wrong we have some NEC members running regional leagues, and branches leagues as well. We need to bring branches to a level of participating actively in football because they are the source of talent,” says Otieno.
He says the 2019 African Cup of Nations tournament held in Egypt was an eye-opener for him on how football reward players in monetary terms because Harambee Stars players were given hefty bonuses never witnessed in the country’s history.
“We should improve on how we pay players to motivate them. Michael Olunga earns millions of shillings at his Qatari club but if he comes here we pay him less. How can we put a coach whom we haven’t paid for 11 months in charge of the team. These are the things we shall sit down with the government to solve,” he says.
One of the highlight incidents in Otieno service as the FKF Secretary was writing a letter in January 20 2022 which denied Harambee Starlets a chance to play against Uganda in the Africa Women Cup of Nation Qualifiers (AWCON).
Otieno wrote the letter withdrawing Starlets from the competition at a time when football in Kenya was under the management of the caretaker committee.
The issue drew the wrath of football stakeholders and fans who said Otieno was frustrating the caretaker committee some suggesting he should have been arrested and taken to court.
“I acted within the law because at the time we couldn’t participate in continental competition because the federation was not in office,” said Otieno.
The Court of Arbitration for Sports later ruled that Otieno acted within the law as Uganda went on to make it to the next round of qualifiers without breaking a sweat.
On the league, Otieno has promised to adopt top-eight competition model for the top men and women’s leagues, and the National Super Leagues because such has done before and it has worked.
Otieno has called on delegates not to vote as a block but to look at the individual’s track record, and to make wise decisions.
