Monday marked the end of the first 100 days for the Football Kenya Federation under the leadership of Nairobi-based businessman Hussein Mohammed.
Under the slogan “Team Fresh”, Hussein pledged to rejuvenate football in the country through infrastructure development, commercialisation of the game, talent growth, and the welfare of footballers amongst other things.
The Extreme Sports CEO emphasised that his success at the federation was hinged on transparency, accountability, and integrity.
“How can the government and sponsors trust you if you can’t account for funds, you have been given? Everybody including sponsors have run away from Kenyan football because the current leadership lacks transparency,” said Hussein in the run-up to the election.
Hussein’s first major act was to form a seven-member Transition Ad-Hoc Committee led by deputy president McDonald Mariga to oversee transition and to conduct a forensic audit of the workings of the federation.
The preliminary report revealed that the previous regime left behind a huge debt of over Sh383 million, inexplicably operated 16 bank accounts, and was involved in 21 legal cases linked to election disputes, unpaid legal fees, and contractual matters.
In addition, the report also severe shortcomings in human resource policies, and worrying cased of poor officiating, match manipulation, and hooliganism.
However, the federation has neither made public the full report nor announced any actions in implementing its recommendations, which included consolidating FKF bank accounts, restructuring debts and conducting forensic audits to enhance financial accountability.
To demonstrate his commitment to transforming Kenya’s football, Hussein announced a partnership with Italian tech firm Venue Era on October 25 last year, over a month before the elections.
Venue Era, known for its expertise in sports technology and infrastructure, has worked on major projects like the King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia and Puskas Arena in Budapest.
Hussein stated that if elected FKF president, this collaboration would help achieve his goal of taking Kenya’s football to the next level by developing world-class sports facilities in the country.
However, there has been no update on the deal since.
Hussein had pledged to engage county governments on a private-public partnership to upgrade at least 10 pitches across the country in eight regions and forge partnerships with both levels of governments, private sectors, and Fifa.
On March 9, FKF announced their first meaningful partnership since their election into office, a two-year, Memorandum of Understanding with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation in Rabat, Morocco.
The deal will among other things enable Kenya Under-20 men to train in Morocco and provide capacity-building opportunities for Kenyan coaches, technical staff, administrators, and FKF officials.
“Over the next two years, our coaches, technical staff, administrators, and officials will have access to quality training, starting as early as April. We will also benefit from expertise in sports infrastructure development and maintenance, which is key to our long-term plans.
This is a valuable collaboration, and we’re keen to see its impact on the game,” said Hussein after signing the MoU.
FKF-Premier League, FKF-Women’s Premier League and National Super League have no title sponsors.
The surge in hooliganism in the domestic leagues during the new administration’s early days in office has been noticeable. Acknowledging that some incidents originated from poor officiating, FKF pledged to improve officiating standards across all leagues through enhanced referee training.
Meanwhile, the FKF Leagues and Competitions Committee moved to curb the vice by sanctioning those found culpable. Migori Youth were docked two points and two goals after one of their fans identified as Kelly Olumbe attacked a female police officer in their NSL match against Nairobi United.
Olumbe was banned from all football activities for six months while Migori Youth chairman Abdi Aziz was suspended for the next five matches.
However, the Hussein administration has come short over its commitment to combat match-fixing after referees Nyabera Libese and Tony Kidiya who were suspended by the previous administration for alleged involvement in match-fixing were allowed to oversee a referees Physical Endurance Test in Vihiga County in January.
While the federation did not clarify how the duo were assigned the role, the two officials claimed they were maliciously targeted by the previous regime.
Although the appointment of South African football legend Benni McCarthy as the new Harambee Stars coach has been welcomed by many Kenyans, it has raised transparency queries after FKF failed to reveal his monthly salary alongside his three backroom staff.
McCarthy alongside his compatriots Vasili Manousakis (assistant coach), Moeneeb Josephs (goalkeeper coach), and Pilela Maposa (performance analyst) were unveiled on March 3 on a two-year contract. FKF has refuted claims that McCarthy alone earns Sh8 million per month without revealing his actual salary.
The federation has continued to fill various key positions without open competitive recruiting. The latest appointment is that of veteran coach Francis Kimanzi for the position of Football Development Director.
On February 14, former footballer Harold Ndege was appointed as the federation General Secretary/CEO.
The top-flight league has been directly managed by FKF since September 2020 when a deal with the federation allowing the clubs to run the league under a limited company lapsed. Little steps made by the federation but plenty still to be done.
