Football Kenya Federation (FKF) National Executive Committee (NEC) members are next week expected to meet on Thursday to ratify several proposed amendments to the 2019 Rules and Regulations.
This is geared towards enabling the federation to start the 2026/2017 Premier League that has failed to kick off because of a dispute over relegation and promotion.
The proposed amendments include the NEC approving the opening and closing dates of the league, increasing the foreign-player quota from five to seven and tightening the medical and safety protocol during matches.
The new season failed to kick off on August 29 following court orders stopping FKF from applying the 2025 Rules and Regulations, pending the determination of cases filed by Evans Nduta and Kariobangi Sharks.
Sharks, who had been relegated after the application of the 2025 regulations, had obtained orders from the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi, suspending the decision by the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) that the 2025 regulations were valid.
The major rule in dispute is the automatic regulation of the bottom three teams in the Premier League. In the 2019 rules, the third last finishing team in the Premier League squares off with the third placed finisher in the National Super League for a spot in the top league.
While the High Court in Murang’a ruled on August 28 that the league could kick off under the 2019 regulations, the competition has yet to start following protests from several clubs.
Club Chief Executive Officers, in a meeting with FKF on Wednesday, proposed several changes to the 2019 Rules and Regulations before the league could start.
The foreign-player quota had elicited the most reaction as most clubs had signed foreigners beyond the limit of five stipulated in the 2019 rules.
Gor Mahia players and officials celebrate with the Football Kenya Federation Premier League trophy at Nyayo National Stadium on May 31, 2026.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
A club official who attended Wednesday’s meeting told Nation Sport that clubs insisted the 2019 rules and regulations be amended to allow teams to sign up to seven foreign players.
Some of the teams argued that they had already signed more than five foreign players as stipulated in the 2025 rules and regulations, which were already in force.
“Already we have made commitments with seven foreign players, and the transfer window and club licensing have been closed. FKF needs to formalise the 2019 regulations to accommodate seven foreign players because we cannot go back to a quota that allows only five players,” said the club official.
For example, Nairobi United have filled up their full quota of seven foreign players while continental football participants Tusker and Gor have each signed six foreign players.
Having the NEC adopt the opening and closing dates of the league was the other point of contention during the meeting.
While FKF was not keen to have the NEC approve the opening and closing dates on grounds that previously the competition had started without that approval, the clubs maintained that the federation must ensure it happens this time.
This, the officials noted, is to avoid the matter being a subject of contention in future. The provision is in rule 2.3.1 of the 2019 FKF Rules and Regulations.
“The FKF National Executive Committee shall annually set the opening and closing dates for all the FKF leagues and/or competitions,” the rule states.
The officials proposed amendments to ensure the availability of at least two well-equipped ambulances in a match as stipulated in the 2025 regulations.
On safety, the club officials proposed that a change be made in the 2019 rules to make it mandatory for all clubs to have a safety and security officer.
“We all agreed that the 2019 Rules and Regulations are backwards. They don’t reflect the present state of football,” said a club official.
Nyanza region FKF NEC member Collins Kalee said that in the interest of the game, the NEC members had agreed to put aside their differences and unlock the stand-off surrounding the league’s start.
AFC Leopards fans celebrate their team’s victory over Tusker FC 4-0 in an FKF Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium on January 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Before the NEC meeting, Kalee said the members are expected to hold an informal meeting to iron out some of the agenda items, which they are still in disagreement over.
“There are some agenda items that we are still not reading from the same page, but the one that I know everyone supports in the issue of the league kick-off,” said Kalee on Saturday.
Since April, the FKF NEC has been divided into two factions, one aligned with President Hussein Mohammed and the other with Vice President McDonald Mariga.
The fallout arose from the allegation of Sh42.48 million fraudulent procurement of insurance cover for the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) which Kenya co-hosted with Uganda and Tanzania in August last year.
On April 24, Mariga led nine out of 14 NEC members in suspending Hussein, acting CEO Dennis Gicheru and nominated member Yusuf Ibrahim over the alleged fraud.
However, the SDT and the High Court issued orders against those resolutions. Fifa also averred that the Mariga-led faction did not follow the right procedure in suspending the trio.
