FIFA SETS EYE ON WARIO

Sports, Culture and Arts cabinet secretary Hassan Wario has found himself between a rock and a hard place following reports that he is planning to disband Football Kenya Federation for dismal performance of Kenyan’s national soccer team, Harambee Stars.

Sources say Fifa secretariat is keenly following unfolding events in the country’s soccer management. This is after Wario publicly hinted that he was considering dissolving FKF. It is said if FKF is dissolved by the government, Fifa is set to ban Kenya from soccer activities for six years.

If this happens, Kenya will not participate in any international soccer tournaments and even the local premier league will not be recognised by Fifa. Further, Kenya players playing professional football in foreign countries will as well be affected since its FKF which plays a leading role in signing and approving their contracts.

Further, the ban is likely to affect Kenya players already engaged in foreign league matches such as Dennis Oliech, MacDonald Mariga,  Victor Wanyama among others since they will not be able to transfer from one club to the other without approval and signature of FKF.

All these are happening at a time when word has it that Wario plans to bring on board people who were defeated by the Nyamweya group during the FKF elections to be in charge of soccer activities.

One name that has featured prominently as having the blessings of Wario to manage soccer activities is one Hussein Mohammed who lost the FKF elections to the Nyamweya team. Sources say during the Kenya’s Jubilee celebrations, Wario appointed Hussein in-charge of publicity knowing so well that he did not have any expertise in public relations. Already, Wario is said to be at loggerheads with his principal secretary, Patrick Omutia, over the tender to Hussein where millions of shillings were allegedly looted.

It is imperative to note that Fifa does not condone interference by government in soccer activities as FKF is not a government body but a limited company.

After Harambee Stars bowed out of the continental soccer and whereas Kenya is now likely to wait for another two years to participate in continental soccer, soccer lovers now say the two years should be used to plan afresh and to streamline soccer management. Sources say Fifa is aware of the plans to dissolve FKF and is just waiting to strike once the announcement is made.

Sources say should Wario make a mistake of appointing a caretaker committee to replace the current office holders, Fifa will only recognise the Nyamweya team who are in office through election and not through appointments.

FKF officials now say the planned move to dissolve FKF based on the performance of Harambee Stars amounts to witch-hunting since the officials have all along been doing their best to ensure Harambee Stars performs. The officials say even during the recently concluded Word Cup, big names like BraZil and Spain performed dismally but their respected soccer governing bodies only sent home the technical bench but not the governing body.