Owalo calls for end to FKF court battles as Premier League crisis deepens

Presidential aspirant Eliud Owalo has called on Football Kenya Federation officials, Premier League clubs and other parties to withdraw cases blocking the start of Kenya's top-flight football season, warning that the prolonged dispute is hurting players, clubs and preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Owalo said on Tuesday that the wrangling surrounding the 2026/27 SportPesa Premier League had gone beyond determining which side was right and now required an urgent negotiated settlement.

His intervention comes as the season remains stalled by conflicting court orders surrounding Kariobangi Sharks, Mombasa United and the rules governing promotion and relegation.

The campaign had initially been scheduled to begin on August 22 but has been postponed several times. The latest attempt to start the league on September 19 was abandoned following fresh High Court orders.

"It is a moment for reason, not flexing muscles," Owalo said.

"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."

Two rulebooks at heart of dispute

The crisis centres partly on competing interpretations of FKF's 2019 and 2025 regulations.

Under the 2025 regulations, the bottom three Premier League clubs are automatically relegated to the National Super League, while the top three NSL clubs gain automatic promotion.

That system would see Kariobangi Sharks, who finished 16th last season, relegated.

The dispute concerns whether those regulations were validly applicable to the 2025/26 season.

The previous framework provided for the team finishing 16th in the Premier League to play a two-legged promotion-relegation playoff against the third-placed NSL club.

That would pit Kariobangi Sharks against Mombasa United for a place in the top flight.

The courts have subsequently issued orders that have complicated FKF's attempts to begin the season.

The High Court in Murang'a ordered that the league should not begin before the Sharks-Mombasa United playoff.

In a separate case, the High Court in Kiambu ordered FKF to publish provisional revised fixtures including Mombasa United as the 18th club and allow it to participate subject to other federation requirements.

That case is scheduled for an inter-partes hearing on September 29.

The result is an unusual situation in which FKF is attempting to organise a national league while simultaneously responding to court directions affecting its composition.

FKF President Hussein Mohammed said on Monday that the federation had begun talks with Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United in an effort to reach a settlement.

Several members of FKF's National Executive Committee have separately demanded an urgent meeting over the crisis, saying the impasse is affecting federation operations and stakeholder confidence.

Owalo proposes talks

Owalo called for all parties to withdraw their court cases unconditionally and resolve the dispute through dialogue.

He proposed an urgent meeting bringing together Mohammed, the entire FKF National Executive Committee and Premier League club chairmen.

"This is not a time for grandstanding or vindication of who is right or wrong," he said. "Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures."

Owalo also urged Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya to become more actively involved in finding a settlement, while drawing a distinction between government mediation and interference in football administration.

"He should demonstrate leadership by negotiating a way out of the current quagmire," Owalo said.

"He cannot afford to fence-sit when our top division league is in shambles."

The Sports Ministry would have to navigate that role carefully because football governing bodies operate under rules intended to protect them from undue government interference.

Owalo did not identify which parties he believes should compromise on the substantive dispute or how the conflicting court orders could be resolved if cases were not voluntarily withdrawn.

Players and clubs bear cost

Beyond the legal arguments, the repeated postponements are creating practical problems for clubs and players.

Teams must continue paying salaries and maintaining training programmes despite uncertainty over when competitive football will resume.

Some clubs had already travelled or made match preparations before FKF called off the September 19 fixtures late on Friday.

Tusker captain Abud Omar has also publicly criticised the disruption, arguing that Kenyan football risks falling further behind other leagues in the region.

Owalo said players whose livelihoods depend on football were being overlooked while administrators and other parties fought over regulations.

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

He also warned that commercial interests were exposed, including sponsorship and broadcast investments.

AFCON clock is ticking

The dispute is unfolding at an especially sensitive moment for Kenyan football.

Kenya will jointly host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Uganda and Tanzania from June 19 to July 17, 2027. The tournament will be the first AFCON hosted by three countries and will bring the competition back to East Africa for the first time since Ethiopia hosted it in 1976.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe last week expressed confidence that the three countries would deliver the tournament, while acknowledging challenges and urging the hosts to accelerate preparations.

A CAF delegation also completed an eight-day inspection of facilities in the three countries earlier this month.

In Kenya, inspectors assessed the new 60,000-capacity Talanta Stadium as well as training grounds, hotels, airport facilities and other infrastructure required for the tournament.

Owalo argued that stadium construction alone was not enough if Kenya's domestic football structures were struggling.

"How can we be racing to be ready for AFCON when our domestic league is non-existent?" he asked.

"Where will the Harambee Stars technical bench scout players from?"

The national team's selection is not exclusively dependent on Premier League football because Kenyan internationals also play abroad, but a functioning domestic competition remains an important pathway for locally based players.

The timing is particularly notable because the group stage of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers begins this week.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are automatically qualified as hosts but are participating in the qualifying competition. Kenya is scheduled to play Eritrea on September 26.

Owalo welcomes Nairobi's 2029 athletics win

Owalo also used his statement to welcome Nairobi's selection to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, describing it as an opportunity for Kenya to build its sports economy and attract international visitors.

World Athletics formally selected Nairobi during its council meeting in Budapest on September 15.

It will be the first time the World Athletics Championships have been staged in Africa.

Nairobi beat competing bids in a process that also resulted in Munich being selected to host the 2031 championships.

Kenya has previously staged the 2017 World Under-18 Championships and the 2021 World Under-20 Championships.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe described the bidding competition as exceptionally strong and said Nairobi's selection would take the championships to Africa for the first time.

Owalo said hosting both AFCON and the World Athletics Championships could create opportunities in tourism, hospitality and employment.

But he argued that Kenya's growing reputation as a host of major international sporting events should be matched by stronger management of domestic sport.

For football, his immediate demand is for the competing parties to return to negotiations.

"Kenyan football is greater than any individual, their goals, aspirations or otherwise," Owalo said.

"Let common sense prevail."