2027 Presidential Aspirant Eliud Owalo Calls For A Quick End To Kenyan Football Grandstanding

_{2027 Presidential Aspirant Eliud Owalo addressing the press at his PPP Headquarters,745 Muchai Drive,Golf Course Estate Nairobi on Tuesday. PHOTO/ LOPEZ ATIENO}

_{By Erick Ochieng and Lopez Atieno}

NAIROBI, Kenya- Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Fourth Estate,Good morning and thank you all for making time for this briefing.

I stand before you, first and foremost, as a sports stakeholder in this country. My passion for sports and better governance is well documented. From this pedestal, like many football fanatics, sports enthusiasts, sports investors and all the good-willed men and women who make their living through Kenya’s most popular sport — football.

It is disheartening that, close to four weeks after the envisaged kick-off date of the 2026/2027 Kenyan Premier League season, the competition is yet to begin.

The Battle of the Rulebooks (2019 vs. 2025)

At the heart of the dispute is a disagreement over which rules should govern the league’s structure:

• The 2025 FKF Regulations: Dictate that three teams are automatically relegated straight to the second-tier National Super League (NSL), eliminating the traditional relegation playoff. Kariobangi Sharks (who finished 16th in the 2025/26 season) were condemned to relegation under this framework.

• The 2019 FKF Regulations: Stipulate that the 16th-placed top-flight team must play a two-legged playoff against the 3rd-placed NSL team (Mombasa United) to fight for the final premier league slot.

The bone of contention here is that perhaps the 2025 guidelines were improperly implemented mid-season, and that the league must legally revert to the 2019 framework.

A lot of infighting within the Football Kenya Federation has brought us to this point. Even as I speak, there are court injunctions left, right and centre. I do not want to go into the intricacies and details of the legal battles or who is right or wrong. What we need is a solution.

_{2027 Presidential Aspirant Eliud Owalo addressing the press at his PPP Headquarters,745 Muchai Drive,Golf Course Estate Nairobi on Tuesday. PHOTO/ LOPEZ ATIENO}

This is a moment for sobriety. It is a moment for reason not flexing muscles.

It is a moment when we must collectively stand up and demand an end to bickering, self-interest and infighting. It is time to condemn the cartelism that has hijacked the game we so dearly love. It is time to call out those who will not stop at anything, even if it means our sons — the footballers — who depend on the game to put food on the table and support their livelihoods, are left to go hungry, heartbroken and on the brink.

How cruel can we be? Is that leadership?

Why, I ask, would someone proclaim to love football yet take pride when our league is in shambles; and the future of our children are at stake?

Let’s get this right.

I am not here to point fingers. I am here to call for a solution and a way out of the quagmire in which we find ourselves as a country, particularly with regard to the Kenyan Premier League.

Having considered all the factors, I wish to offer the following remedies:

1.All parties should UNCONDITIONALLY withdraw all the cases currently before the courts.

2. The FKF President, Mr. Hussein Mohamed, together with the entire National Executive Committee and all KPL club chairmen, should meet AS A MATTER OF URGENCY and agree on how to jump-start the season.

3. This is NOT a time for grandstanding or vindication of who is right or wrong. Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures.

4. I believe there are sober and civil heads within the KPL chairmen’s caucus and within the FKF NEC. Kenyan football is greater than any individual, their goals, aspirations or otherwise.

5. In the same vein, the Government, through the Ministry of Sports, has a duty to ensure that our game is shepherded on the right path.

On this pedestal, I call upon the Sports Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Salim Mvurya, to step up and offer leadership, NOT interference. He should demonstrate leadership by negotiating a way out of the current quagmire. He cannot afford to fence-sit when our top division league is in shambles.

CAF AFCON 2027

It is shocking that these developments are taking place at a time when Kenya is gearing up for the 2027 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which is less than 10 months away, and which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

How can we be racing to be ready for AFCON when our domestic league is non-existent? Where will the Harambee Stars technical bench scout players from?

This is a recipe for disaster.

We must spare ourselves this embarrassment and get our game back on track. We cannot week in, week out, brag about the grandiose nature and readiness of the Talanta City Stadium when the most important stakeholder — the footballer — is on the brink, yet we all turn a blind eye to it.

_{2027 Presidential Aspirant Eliud Owalo addressing the press at his PPP Headquarters,745 Muchai Drive,Golf Course Estate Nairobi on Tuesday. PHOTO/ LOPEZ ATIENO}

Ladies and Gentlemen, this must stop!

As a sports lover, and as someone who has walked the journey with clubs and footballers, I know this pain too well. Sports is one of my key pillars, and if elected President, such shenanigans will be a thing of the past.

Hosting AFCON will see the attention of the entire continent and the world turn to Kenya. As such, we MUST move with speed to address this.

2029 WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

On the same pedestal, I take this opportunity to congratulate Athletics Kenya for bringing the 2029 World Athletics Championships home for the very first time, making Kenya the first country in Africa to earn the rights to host the prestigious championships.

This was achieved through meticulous planning, hard work and years of lobbying by Athletics Kenya. There is no gainsaying that KENYA IS AN ATHLETICS POWERHOUSE, and hosting this prestigious championship will bring guests and tourists of all cadres to Nairobi.

This, alongside AFCON, presents an opportunity to market our beloved country, Kenya.

It will create jobs, particularly in the hospitality sector. Hotels and tourism will reap significant benefits, while our standing among nations will soar. This is what we want for our youths. As I have stated time and again, Sports is a multi-billion-dollar industry with the capacity to give meaningful careers to our youth, and we must therefore not joke around with it.

This is the Kenya we should all endeavour to build.

ONCE AGAIN, I call upon all parties to UNCONDITIONALLY withdraw all cases in Court and let the Kenyan Premier League begin.

Billions of shillings in investment from league title sponsors and broadcast-rights holders are at stake, and so is the livelihood of our footballers. Let common sense prevail.

May God bless Kenya.