FKF Reveals Talks with Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United in Bid to End Premier League Standoff

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Hussein Mohammed says his team is exploring ways to bring Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United to agree to the way forward in the wake of the delayed league kick off.

The FKF Premier League is yet to kick off due to court cases filed by various parties over the regulations governing the top flight, specifically on relegation and promotion.

Sharks, who finished 16th in the Premier League in 2025-26, have sought legal redress for being relegated under the 2025 regulations, which state that three teams go down straight, claiming the league was run under 2019 rules, which stipulate that a playoff should be played between the 16th-placed team and the third-placed side in the second tier.

Even after the Sports Disputes Tribunal ruled in favour of the 2025 regulations, the matter moved to the High Court where different cases have been filed, one in Murang’a giving the federation the go ahead to start the league while another one in Nairobi has barred the league from kicking off before the matter is heard.

Attempts by FKF to kick off the league in line with the Murang’a court’s directive has been met with further injunctions, the latest being last Friday where the top flight, which was to resume on Saturday, was stopped following another court order.

While the federation insists the rules were very clear to all clubs when the 2025-26 league resumed, Mohammed concedes the current impasse has turned political and might need diplomacy to resolve.

“We are consulting with legal councils and club representatives,” Mohammed said during a media briefing in Nairobi on Monday.

“We are engaging the affected parties to see whether we can have a playoff or another all-inclusive process for all. The best ideal situation would be if we got consent from both quarters. We must revert to immediate internal solutions and not take football matters to ordinary courts.”

Mohammed has defended the federation over accusations of being weak and lacking foresight and focus, leading to the current mess.

The federation says all 18 Premier League teams were aware that 2025 regulations were in force when the 2025-26 season kicked off on September 19, 2025, following a National Executive Committee meeting that scrapped the playoffs that same day, even though the official communication was sent on September 23, 2025.

“This was a great factual question before the Sports Disputes Tribunal. The tribunal said much as there was that four-day discrepancy in communication, you cannot sit on something for a whole season and come and raise it at the end of the season,” acting FKF CEO Dennis Gicheru weighed in, regarding the Kariobangi Sharks’ grievances.

“That was the argument of the tribunal. It is a good judgement in whatever we are going through. The tribunal was clear [that] you cannot claim a right and sit over it for a period of nine months and come to raise it when the season has ended.

“It is very clear; league tables were being sent, three down, three up. Have you now realised on an administrative lapse at the end of the season? The tribunal’s position was no.”

It remains to be seen if dialogue will unlock the impasse as the standoff is straining clubs and players both financially and physically.