PRESS RELEASE

KFF Chairman again snubs clubs

February 14 - KFF Chairman Alfred Sambu again snubbed another invitation and opportunity for constructive dialogue with the top clubs in the Kenyan Premier League Ltd (KPL), the private company owned and run by 16 Premier League clubs. The KPL also noted the KFF Chairman had still not told Kenyans about his meetings with FIFA in Zurich last month.

Last week the KPL again invited the KFF Chairman to attend their meeting last Saturday. The KPL letter (copy attached) also raised for discussion the blatant and unfair exclusion in the KFF Constitution of the text on the KPL which was agreed at the meeting chaired by Sports Minister Ochillo Ayacko last December 9th. KFF Normalisation Committee Chairman Kip Keino, Secretary Ashioya and other members as well as the Commissioner of Sports and FIFA Deputy General Secretary Jerome Champagne also attended that meeting.

That was the eighth time in the last two years that KFF officials made and broke their agreements with clubs on the management of the Premier League. Although the clubs had already authorized the KPL executive to raise this serious omission with the Registrar General, their letter to KFF Chairman Sambu emphasized that "as you were not involved in these blatant breeches of previous agreement and commitments, our first preference is to discuss with you on how best to remedy this sad situation."

As the KFF Chairman failed to respond yet again, the KPL agreed on Saturday to ask Sports Minister Ochillo Ayacko to intervene as he chaired the crucial meeting on December 9th. The KPL also noted the head of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in South Africa is expected to visit Kenya in the next few weeks and should meet with the Premier League clubs.

At their meeting last Saturday the KPL also:
-   Approved the detailed KPFG/KPL Financial Statement for the period from October 2003 to January 30, 2005 and authorized the full audit to proceed;
-   Agreed that a letter be sent to KFF and NOCK asking for a full list of all payments made by each club for league fees and players registration which were to be held in trust;
-   Expressed concern about arbitrary and last minute changes being made in the fixtures without following proper procedures and rules or consulting the concerned clubs and cited the recent AFC Leopards vs Mumias case as a sad example;
-   Noted with concern that Premier League representatives in KFF did not properly consult or represent their fellow clubs and agreed to review this situation at the next meeting.

The KPL also approved a budget of Ksh 2.8 million for new KPL activities to be carried out in February/March. They include a residential training workshop for senior club officials on good governance and transparency in club management, the creation of a new national association of players and a Kenyan athletes charter on fairplay and transparency in sport. Those KPL activities are funded under the good governance programme of the German Development Cooperation Agency (GTZ).

The next KPL meeting will be held on Saturday, February 26th starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Utalii Hotel. Once again the KFF Chairman will be invited to attend.
 
Contact
Jack Oguda, Acting Managing Director, Mobile 0722-741411
Kenyan Premier League Ltd, Riadha House, Box 5350, Nairobi 00506, Kenya