End football wrangles – Daily Nation

Kenyan football has again been engulfed in chaos after Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and league body Kenyan Premier League Limited failed to agree on the future of the 2019/2020 Kenyan Premier League season.

On Thursday, FKF President Nick Mwendwa tweeted that the season would end prematurely, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, prompting protests from the league body.

Citing FKF’s league and competitions rule book, the government’s directive on the 7pm-5am curfew and the closure of sports facilities in the wake of the outbreak, Mwendwa declared the local football season over.

However, the league body has insisted that a decision on the fate of the league can only be made by either the Kenyan Premier League Governing Council, or a joint executive committee of the league body and the federation.

A furious KPL chief executive Jack Oguda has urged Mwendwa to follow the law.

On Thursday, Mwendwa also took to Twitter to declare defending champions Gor Mahia winners of the current campaign.

The league, which was meant to conclude on May 23, was suspended in March. Gor Mahia were on top of the standings with less than 10 rounds of matches to go.

Interestingly, Mwendwa has remained silent on the fate of the domestic Cup (Betway Cup), which is run by FKF.

FKF and the league body should consult and arrive at a common position regarding the status of the league.

The two bodies could borrow a leaf from rugby, where stakeholders have opted to find common ground with respect to local leagues after an attempt by the Kenya Rugby Union to unilaterally end the season failed.