FIFA Suspends Kenya & Zimbabwe from All Football Competitions

FIFA has requested that the government reverse its decision to dissolve the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and appoint a caretaker committee. If this ruling is not overturned, all football activities in the country will be halted indefinitely.

In a letter to FKF Secretary-General Barry Otieno, the football association requested that the government reconsider the decision to appoint a caretaker committee to oversee football activities in the country on an interim basis.

“Repeal of the Cabinet Secretary’s decision of November 11, 2021, appointing the caretaker committee in lieu of the elected FKF Executive Committee,” stated the letter in part. 

The indefinite suspension will be reinstated only once FKF officials led by Vice President Doris Petra and Chief Executive Officer Barry Otieno have been reinstated.

The suspension was as a result of Amina Mohamed, the Sports Cabinet Secretary, disbanding the FKF, which was led by Nick Mwendwa, on November 11, 2021, and replacing it with a caretaker committee to oversee football operations in the country in the interim. Since then, the caretaker committee has been led by Justice (Rtd.) Aaron Ringera, with former KTN TV anchor Lindah Oguttu as the secretariat's head.
FIFA, on the other hand, did not acknowledge the alterations, with Fatma Samoura, FIFA's Secretary-General, writing twice to Kenya to warn them of the move.

Mwendwa was eventually captured on graft charges, forcing him to resign while investigations against him and other senior FKF officers continued.

The suspension will cause a great impact on the Kenyan football teams and clubs as they will not be able to participate in international matches with other countries across the world. The Kenyan referees will also be barred from participating in any international tournament.