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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter

AS the football governing authorities in Zimbabwe are faced with difficult choices in the build-up to the 2023 AFCON and CHAN tournaments, it appears their counterparts in Kenya have made a firm decision which could see them forego the two competitions as they seek to bring sanity to their game.

Zimbabwe and Kenya were recently suspended by FIFA for “third party interference” after the authorities in the two countries had read the riot act on the corrupt leadership of the respective football associations.

The suspensions were confirmed at the FIFA Congress held in Qatar last month where the world football governing body gave strict conditions for the lifting of the temporary bans.

FIFA gave express instruction that the suspended leadership of the two associations had to be reinstated and the committees tasked to come up with local solutions in the clean-up of the game dissolved.  

Despite the glaring need for reform in the eyes of the locals, FIFA have decided to maintain a rigid stance, and in the process coming in direct conflict with the local laws.

In Kenya, they seem to have embraced their suspension and they are not looking back. They have come up with a constitutional review programme which clearly shows they won’t reinstate the suspended Football Kenya Federation board.

The country’s Sports Cabinet Secretary, Amina Mohamed, disbanded the FKF and installed a caretaker committee to run the game in the country.

Mohamed said the decision was final and she would go on to ‘’clean Kenyan football’’ before considering readmission to the FIFA football family.

From the look of things, the Kenyan authorities have weighed the costs of the suspension and it appears they don’t even care about playing in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers.  

They have not only embraced the suspension but they have been working with speed to have their problems solved quickly.

The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage appointed the FKF Caretaker Committee on November 11, 2021, for a period of six months. The Caretaker Committee was given specific mandate as indicated below:

Conduct all the affairs of FKF in accordance with its constitution;

Ensure that FKF is in compliance with the Kenyan constitution and the Sports Act No. 25 of 2013;

Coordinate and ensure smooth running of FKF’s operations including team preparations at all local and international sporting events;

Co-ordinate elections of FKF in accordance with the constitution, Sports Act (2013) and the Sports Registrar’s regulations.

Hand over FKF to the newly elected officials after a successful election. The committee has reviewed the FKF constitution and would like to facilitate a consultative dialogue with all stakeholders.

The caretaker committee, led by retired Justice Aaron Ringera, has since hit the ground running. They have finished reviewing the constitution and have opened the floor to all stakeholders and the general public for input on the draft constitution.

The general consensus in Kenya is that the proposed amendment to the FKF constitution couldn’t have come at a better time.

The caretaker committee has released a document entitled “Key Changes to the Constitution and Rules of FKF 2020’’ meant to streamline the administration of football in the country.

The development followed a comprehensive nationwide consultative exercise where the committee held fruitful discussions with key stakeholders in the industry “with a view of having an FKF constitution which is compliant with the Constitution of Kenya and the Sports Act, 2013 and which encapsulates the values and principles of good governance, accountability and transparency and honours gender equity and equality”.

The Caretaker Committee has also put in place other modes of stakeholders’ engagement to cast its net wide, including establishing an official portal where stakeholders can propose amendments.

“The bold step taken by the FKF caretaker committee to facilitate constitutional reforms is not only timely but also commendable,” wrote journalist Tony Mballa in an editorial published by The Star newspaper.

The caretaker committee was given until May to complete their mandate. Kenya are adamant their football needs fixing, more than just taking part in the AFCON tournament.

This comes as CAF have left the window open for both Kenya and Zimbabwe to participate in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers on condition they abandon their football “clean-up” and reinstate the suspended associations football leadership.

Zimbabwe are also battling to resolve the crisis after setting up a ZIFA Restructuring Committee to work on strategies to bring the administration of the domestic game back on sound footing after years of disintegration.

However, there is mounting pressure from some stakeholders after CAF gave at least until mid-May to comply with the FIFA conditions for the Warriors to be able to participate in the AFCON qualifiers.

While Kenya are working with May deadline, the ZIFA Restructuring Committee, set up by the Sports and Recreation Commission, has been given until December.

“Zimbabwe’s priority at the moment is reforming football administration in the country. 

“The lifting of the suspension is not a priority at all. It will be addressed once we are satisfied that key reforms have been instituted within ZIFA.

“We are certain that the suspension will be lifted in the fullness of time and that this lifting will not be conditional to fulfilling the conditions set out in the suspension itself,” said Sports Commission chairman, Gerald Mlotshwa, in recent responses to The Herald.

The committee, led by Blessing Rugara, was appointed in line with the provisions of Section 21, as well as 19(b) and 20 (c) of the SRC Act to tackle issues of strategic nature in the search for solutions in Zimbabwe’s perennial football administration problems.

This committee, made up of experts in various fields of administration, sports management, legal advisory and business management, is independent of the Sports Commission and has the autonomy to discharge the functions more fully as set out in its terms of reference.