FKF invites Kariobangi Sharks, Mombasa United to resolve 2026/27 season kickoff stalemate
By Joel Masibo, September 22, 2026
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has invited Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United to a fresh consultative meeting as the dispute surrounding the running of the country’s domestic game continues to delay the start of the 2026/27 top-flight season.
In a letter signed by Acting General Secretary/CEO Dennis Gicheru, the federation has invited the two teams to a consultative meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 10:00 am at a Nairobi hotel.
The invitation allows each party to nominate up to three representatives, including a legal representative. The meeting comes at a critical point for Kenyan football, with the FKF Premier League yet to begin despite several attempts to set a kick-off date.
FKF had settled on September 19, 2026, as the latest starting date after earlier delays caused by disputes over promotion and relegation regulations. However, the federation was forced to postpone the opening round after courts in Murang’a and Kiambu issued orders that created conflicting requirements over the composition of the 18-team league.
Court orders
The Murang’a High Court order requires FKF to first address a promotion-relegation play-off involving Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United, while a separate Kiambu court order directed the federation to publish provisional fixtures, including Mombasa United as the 18th team. FKF said the conflicting orders left it with no safe legal option but to postpone the season.
The latest invitation is particularly significant because September 24, 2026, is also the date set for the hearing of the legal dispute surrounding the promotion and relegation framework. The case stems from FKF’s adoption of its 2025 regulations, which changed the system from the 2019 framework by providing for three automatic relegations and three automatic promotions, eliminating the play-off involving the 16th-placed Premier League team and the third-placed NSL side.
Wider leadership dispute
The league crisis is only one part of a broader dispute within FKF.
Seven members of the federation’s National Executive Committee recently raised objections over several issues, including the proposed budgets, governance procedures, financial oversight and the tenure of the Acting General Secretary/CEO.
The NEC members questioned proposed budgets of approximately Ksh3.5 billion for 2026 and Ksh4.5 billion for 2027, arguing that they had not received sufficient information to properly scrutinise the proposals. They also raised questions over reported FIFA funding of about $1 million intended to assist FKF with debt clearance.
Gicheru’s position has also become part of the legal and administrative disagreement. He was appointed acting Secretary General/CEO in February 2026, and FKF’s current official leadership page lists him as the federation’s Acting Secretary General and CEO. However, some NEC members have questioned his continued tenure, while a separate legal application has challenged his continued occupation of the position after the expiry of the initial six-month acting period.
The internal tensions follow an earlier leadership confrontation in April, when a section of the NEC attempted to suspend President Hussein Mohammed and other officials. FIFA subsequently rejected the suspension process, saying it did not comply with the FKF Constitution.
Clubs caught in the middle
The uncertainty has increasingly shifted the pressure onto clubs, players, coaches and supporters. FKF and Premier League clubs had appeared to reach an agreement earlier in September after a series of meetings, with the federation announcing September 19, 2026, as the new kick-off date. The agreement followed discussions on issues including the league’s foreign-player quota and matchday medical arrangements.
But the subsequent court orders again halted preparations. Some supporters had already travelled for matches before learning that the fixtures had been postponed, while clubs had made arrangements around travel, matchday operations and player preparation. The continued uncertainty has also raised concerns over the commercial impact on sponsors and broadcasters.
Tusker captain Abud Omar has also publicly expressed concern about the disruption, warning that repeated uncertainty over the domestic league could affect football development at a time when Kenya is preparing for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
AFCON 2027 adds urgency
The timing of the crisis is particularly important because Kenya is less than a year away from co-hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Uganda and Tanzania.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya has repeatedly called on football stakeholders to resolve their differences and allow domestic football to operate normally.
During a September 9, 2026, meeting with FKF president Hussein Mohammed and Premier League club chairpersons, Mvurya said governance and administrative disputes should not interfere with talent development and competitive football.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe also called for unity within Kenyan football during his visit to Nairobi on September 18, amid the continuing disagreements within FKF leadership.
The latest FKF invitation therefore presents another opportunity for the various sides to sit around the same table. With the Premier League suspended, legal battles continuing and disagreements within the federation still unresolved, Thursday’s consultative meeting at Weston Hotel could provide an important forum for stakeholders to address both the immediate league crisis and some of the wider governance questions confronting Kenyan football.
For now, however, the biggest unanswered question remains when the 2026/27 SportPesa League will finally get underway. FKF’s own competition page currently lists the 2026/27 league as an 18-team, 34-matchday competition but shows no fixtures scheduled, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the new campaign.