Kenya has been banned at least 3 times between the year 2001 and 2006. These bans resulted due in large part to corruption, incompetence and selfish interests on the part of the Kenyan officials. As a result, the game has suffered tremendously: Fans have stopped attending league matches, sponsors have pulled, players have quit the game and Kenya has been taken back at least a decade in terms of development. While these officials should have learned by now, it is readily apparent that their selfish interests still take precedence over the welfare of the game, players and fans.

Some of the lessons we should have learned :

1. The need to work within FIFA

Unless you are keen on getting Kenya banned, arguing with FIFA, citing technicalities and stating how FIFA are not in conformance with KFF statutes, thumping your chest at FIFA et cetera et cetera are all exercises in futility. FIFA will not budge once they have made a decision. And now that Sepp Blatter is running unopposed, he will have no qualms about slapping Kenya with a hefty ban.

Its a crying shame that soon after FIFA lifted Kenya's ban, a group of circus clowns led by Sam Nyamweya, Mohammed Omar and Peter Ochiel staged an attempted coup in a bid to wrest control from the newly installed KFF team. This is the kind of self centeredness that has held the game back while nations like Cote'd Ivoire and Senegal have moved ahead in leaps and bounds. Our officials simply cannot put the welfare of the game and the players ahead of their selfish needs.

			Soon after the FIFA ban was lifted, a group of circus clowns led by Peter Ochiel and Sam Nyamweya announced that they were staging a coup to take over KFF

Secondly , heckling FIFA while telling them not interfere in local affairs will not accomplish anything. Telling FIFA not to interfere is like telling a school headmaster not to intervene when he sees students smoking inside the school grounds. Imagine a student yelling "Its my health so stop interfering" That's not really the issue is it ?

2. Government Intervention is still needed

Most Kenyans applauded Maina Kamanda when he dissolved the KFF team of Alfred Sambu and Dan Omino. The level of incompetence displayed by those two completely defied belief. The key to government intervention is to work with FIFA. Chances are that FIFA would have supported Kamanda's action had he sought their approval. It is unthinkable that the government should just sit back and do nothing as football is run down by corrupt officials. After all it is they who often pay expenses for the national team and maintain stadia. And its is they who can do the most in helping raise the standard of the game in Kenya.

The move by Mr. Kamanda to dissolve the KFF regime of Sambu and Omino was a step in the right direction.

3. Independent 3rd Parties to handle finances.

More than anything else, the one issue that has done the most damage to the game in Kenya is the embezzlement of funds meant for football. The step my Mohammed Hatimy to let the KPMG handle federation finances is a step in the right direction. With KFFs history of corruption and embezzlement of funds, few if any sponsors are willing to entrust KFF with money. If Mr. Hatimy follows through on his promise, all Kenyans will applaud him because this is a significant step in putting the interests of the game ahead of KFF officials. But whether it will happen or not remains to be seen.

The creation of the Harambee stars management board is another step in the right direction. Unfortunately, as soon as the new KFF team took office , Titus Kasuve was busy trying to wrest control of the nation team from them. This is a classic example of self interests getting in the way of what is good for football. Sponsors are more likely to part with their money if the team is fully run by an independent body. Selfish acts such as those of Mr. Kasuve must be blocked by all who want to see Kenya succeed.

4. FIFA Must demand greater accountability

FIFA is to blame for much of the quagmire we find ourselves in. Their penchant for throwing money at the problem without demanding accountability is what causes all manner of vultures to circle around KFF with a view to siphoning FIFA money into their accounts. Money has disappeared under every single KFF chairman since Maina Kariuki yet FIFA just keeps giving money to these officials without demanding accountability. One good idea as stated in the section above is to ensure that any money is handled by an Independent third party like KPMG

5. Kenya must Strive for Meritocracy

In 2005, upon FIFA's suggestion, an Independent company was assigned the task of vetting candidates for the Post of KFF Secretary General. After interviewing several candidates they settled on Moni Wekesa. But the KFF top brass led by Titus Kasuve demanded that an insider (Dan Omino) be given the post instead. Kasuve repeatedly told FIFA to stop interfering in local affairs. FIFA eventually caved in to pressure. Omino turned to be one of the most incompetent officials ever. Kenyans had to suffer under his incompetence which led to among other things, the Bernard Lama debacle. Lama himself marveled at Omino and Sambu’s incompetence by lamenting "This KFF cannot even get basic things done".

		When Kasuve and other officials selfishly insisted on hiring Omino instead of a better qualified candidate, the results were disastrous

6. No single club should control the National league

The perception that Mathare United had too much influence over the KPL is one of the issues that created discord among the various clubs. Accuses of favoritism and victimization flew all over the place. Whether those accusations are true or not, it shows that whenever one club dominates the KPL committees, accusations of favoritism will always be thrown. Some KPL officials openly spoke about killing off community clubs which further poisoned the atmosphere. In the future there should be balanced representation from all clubs in each KPL sub committee.

7. FIFA must target errant officials and clubs

Suspending Kenya when the problems are being caused by a few self serving officials and clubs is highly unfair. Ideally FIFA should ban individual officials who refuse to toe the line. A perfect example is the group of clowns led by Ochiel and Nyamweya who attempted and are still attempting to take control of KFF. Banning Kenya for years only punishes the fans and the players who cannot do anything.

8. Self Supporting Clubs

Yours truly has been an ardent fan of the three big self supporting clubs. But I have come to the realization that over the past 3 years, these clubs have actually played a significant role in causing the dwindling of standards. The officials at these clubs still have a 1960s sense of entitlement when it comes to relegation. Furthermore, the officials routinely act out of their own vested interests. Sam Nyamweya has no interest in reviving Shabana. More than likely he is interested in using it as a front to further his own financial interests. Should the league get a sponsor you can be sure that Shabana's portion of the sponsorship money will end up in Nyamweya's bank account. What has he ever done to put Shabana on a firm financial footing ? Absolutely nothing.

Sobbie Mulindi and co did nothing as AFC players some of whom had only recently finished form 4 and had arrived from upcountry, spent nights sleeping at bus stations and going hungry because they had no dwelling. It is no wonder that AFC Leopards were relegated. How do you expect a group of players who are treated so poorly to do well ? Yet when a new group came forward with ideas on reviving the club, Mulindi insisted on clinging to power. For what ? nobody knows.

When Mr. Okul withdrew Gor Mahia from the lucrative Transparency cup in 2004, most fans and members were up in arms. Okul and Juma Sule were later to remark that they like to hide club issues from members and fans. This lack of transparency and poor public relations is an example of why these clubs are dying. Such secretiveness is a good way to discourage fans from attending club games. Such officials cant possibly claim to be acting in the best interests of the club.

These officials are just a few in a long line of incompetent, self serving officials who have as good as killed these self supporting clubs. They don't seem to understand how to attract fans to the club, transparency and accountability are dirty words to them, they don't know the 1st thing about marketing or public relations and in many cases, they have their own interests and not those of the club at heart. Fans of these clubs now have a decision to make. Will they demand structural changes in the way these clubs are run or will they watch silently as these clubs are killed slowly ?

Yet for the Kenyan league to succeed, attract sponsorship and attract crowds, it needs crowd pulling teams. Unfortunately teams like Tusker, Sher, the various Sugar companies etc can never attract crowds. Perhaps its time for the government to come through on its promise of creating and funding a football team in each constituency within Nairobi , and a team for each major town. Such teams if well organized can attract huge crowds because Kenyans today like to identify with their home areas. For example a match pitting Langata Constituency against say Kamkunji constituency would be a huge crowd puller.

9. Sam Nyamweya types must be shunned at all costs

This fellow deserves a paragraph unto himself because he has played such a huge part in creating the mess that Kenya football finds itself in. He is a charlatan par supreme. He has very little interest in football. It has become increasingly clear that he uses the game and Shabana football club as a front for amassing wealth. The extent of his corrupt activities would make anyone shake his head in disbelief. He apparently sold a bus belonging to Harambee stars which had been donated by a private organization. Back in 2000 when he was a CECAFA official, he dissapeared with the $6000 prize money intended for the winners, Sports Club Villa of Uganda.

Nyamweya shamelessly hovers like a hungry vulture wherever their is money available, scheming deviously to siphon some of that money into his bank account. Its no surprise that in the new sham KFF, Nyamweya has appointed himself the task of organizing finances and seeking sponsorship. The idea that Nyamweya will be in charge of sourcing for sponsorship within the new committee is laughably absurd. Which private sector company will work with someone this corrupt ?

Nyamweya (centre) pictured here during a Bunge FC match

-

The bottom-line is that Nyamweya represents the worst of Kenyan football. People like him and those who associate with him must be shunned at all costs.