Kenya and Zimbabwe found themselves on the wrong side of Fifa after both countries received an indefinite suspension from all football activities, effective immediately.
Fifa on Thursday asked the Kenyan government to repeal the decision to disband the Football Kenya Federation and install a caretaker committee or the country will remain in the cold indefinitely. The decision was made in response to several corruption allegations and interference.
In a letter to the disbanded federation’s secretary-general Barry Otieno, Fifa asked the government to: “repeal the Cabinet Secretary’s decision of 11 November 2021 appointing the caretaker committee in lieu of the elected FKF Executive Committee.”
The world governing body said it would only lift the suspension upon “receipt of confirmation from the FKF and its management, led by Vice-President Doris Petra and General Secretary Barry Otieno that the FKF and its premises are once more under their full and unconditional control.”
The same can be said for Zimbabwe, as the country received the ban due to government interference, through the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), in running the local game.
According to FIFA, the ban will only be lifted after the state-appointed Sports and Recreation Commission has lifted its suspension of the Zifa board and reinstated the Felton Kamambo-led administration. FIFA also said that the SRC must also drop all charges against Kamambo and members of his board.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino, while announcing the decision at a virtual Fifa Council Press Council in Zurich, attributed the decision to government interference by both Kenyan and Zimbabwean authorities.
“Without prejudice to any investigations by national authorities or other judicial bodies, the FIFA Council also decided to suspend the Football Kenya Federation and the Zimbabwe Football Association with immediate effect due to undue interference by a third party,” he said.
The move by football’s world governing body stems from a decision by Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to disband the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in November last year. She cited corruption allegations against federation officials in arriving at this move, coming after she’d ordered a comprehensive audit of the sports body.
The CS replaced FKF with a Caretaker Committee to, among other things, run football activities under the federation’s constitution. She then appointed Retired Justice Aaron Ringera to lead the caretaker committee, while journalist Lindah Oguttu was installed as the head of the secretariat.
Kenya and Zimbabwe are both banned from all football activities by FIFA
Fifa Secretary General Fatma Samoura wrote to the Kenyan authorities twice after the disbandment of the federation, asking the government to, at the very least, re-instate the secretariat of the body as they continue to look for a solution.
FKF president Nick Mwendwa was arrested on two separate occasions and charged with graft, before stepping aside. But the move to disband FKF was immediately outlawed by Fifa amid threats of a ban. The Zurich-based body, in a series of correspondences, insisted the government should reinstate FKF while opening the channels for negotiations to solve the impasse.
Kenya’s suspension means the country will be barred from fielding any team in any competitive event outside the country. These include the men’s and women’s football teams, or clubs.
Similarly, referees will be barred from international assignments while no Kenyan footballer will be allowed to complete a professional transfer during the duration of the ban.
As for Zimbabwe, a full communique from FIFA was issued citing many issues and demands that were to be addressed. Part of the letter read:
The FIFA Council considered that the aforementioned circumstances were serious and constituted a clear case of undue interference by a third party. Therefore, on the basis of article 14 paragraphs 1 i) and 3 of the FIFA Statutes – as well as article 16 paragraph 1, under which the FIFA Council may, without a vote of the Congress, temporarily suspend with immediate effect a member association that seriously violates its obligations – the FIFA Council decided to suspend ZIFA with immediate effect due to flagrant violations of the FIFA Statutes. Furthermore, and without prejudice to the ongoing investigations into the allegations of sexual harassment and bribery, the FIFA Council decided that the lifting of the suspension be subject to the following conditions:
• The repeal of the SRC decision of 26 November 2020 suspending the ZIFA General Secretary
• The repeal of the SRC decision of 16 November 2021 suspending the ZIFA Board
• The repeal of the SRC decision of 17 December 2021 setting up the restructuring committee
• FIFA’s receipt of confirmation from ZIFA and its management, led by President Felton Kamarnbo and General Secretary Joseph Marnutse, that ZIFA and its premises are once more under their full and unconditional control
• The withdrawal of the SRC’s legal complaint against the ZIFA President, three other ZIFA Board members and the General Secretary regarding alleged misuse of the ZIFA letterheads
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