Kenyan soccer fans give mixed reactions to FIFA ban

Kenyan soccer fans have roundly blamed Kenya soccer chiefs for the country's suspension by world's football governing body, FIFA, from international football.

The suspension, which was confirmed on Wednesday, is the second ban in two years for the east African nation that has been rocked by persistent chaos in the management of the game in the country.

FIFA suspended Kenya for three months in 2004 for government interference but the situation was upturned after the country accepted to draw up new statutes.

Reacting to the FIFA ban, soccer official, Peter Ochiel urged fellow delegates for Saturday's Special General Meeting to pass a vote of no confidence in the current national officials.

Ochiel said this was the only way to save Kenyan football from ruin. "The current officials have done little to help the sport grow. As delegates we must take action by getting them out of office," he said.

Harambee Stars Management Board chairman, Wilfred Kiboro said the ban should give stakeholders an opportunity to sort out various issues affecting the sport.

Kiboro, who is also the Chief Executive of the Nation Media Group, said the board would back efforts towards a quick solution to the issues that have forced FIFA into imposing the indefinite suspension on Kenya.

"We want a quick solution to the problem because the ban will affect our work at the board. As a board made up of people of integrity, we will try and mediate between the opposing groups and come up with a solution," he said.

"Our soccer is in the intensive care unit and we must urgently intervene. Harambee Stars does not only belong to KFF but to all Kenyans and when it fails, it is Kenya that is the laughing stock, " Kiboro said.

He said the board will soon start sourcing for funds for the national team, adding that it would also set in place a legal operating structure which would include registering it as a limited company by guarantee.

"We want to cut out the bad image Kenya football has been associated with. This board has an obligation to bring passion back in football."

But beleaguered KFF Secretary General Dan Omino defended his office insisting they had implemented all agreements made with FIFA.

Former France captain Marcel Desailly said the east African nation only has itself to blame for football woes that led FIFA to ban it indefinitely from the international game.

He said the ban, confirmed on Wednesday by FIFA's Emergency Committee in Zurich, was a wake-up call for the KFF to put its chaotic house in order.

"It is a hit," said Desailly, a member of France's 1998 World Cup winning side who is in Kenya to visit football projects funded by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in the Mathare valley slums outside Nairobi.

"Yes, it is sad, it's a hard hit. We will have to see if Kenya is able to react well. Kenya has made a mistake. It is now up to the officials to say 'Yes, we have made a mistake, we have to try to work much more to get organized and improve the sport'," Desailly said.

Desailly's former team-mate Bernard Lama quit as Kenya's national team coach last month amid escalating problems in the KFF, which had been given until 18 October to meet FIFA demands for reform or face punitive measures.

One standout problem was the presence of two separate elite leagues within the country, which directly opposed FIFA's desires.

Recent problems have included losing seasons, deadly fan violence, physical attacks on rival KFF officials, a match-fixing allegation and clashes over the formation of KPL to run Kenyan football on a professional basis.

The former French captain said it was up to Kenyans to choose for themselves, saying Kenya has a chance of picking up if they reacted positively to the ban.

"If you react negatively, that is it, but great people will rise up to the challenges the ban brings with it," said Desailly.

Fans also called on the delegates set to attend the Saturday's KFF Special General Meeting to abide by the demands of FIFA.

"We know football is in the wrong hands but for the sake of bringing sanity, let KFF swallow its pride and give in to the FIFA's demands and look for the ways of putting our house in order," said Suleiman Saliyan, a soccer manager with provincial league side.

He said Kenyans have no confidence in the entire KFF but the delegates to Saturday's meeting can salvage the football, which has been sent into the grave by giving in to FIFA's demands.

But Amour Bwanamaka, a soccer administration supported the ban, blaming it on the KFF officials.

"I support FIFA's ban because the top brass at the federation has taken some pressing football issues for granted. They deserve to be banned for life," said Bwanamaka.

"Some of the leaders have been exercising nepotism and running the federation activities on ethnic lines, which should not be the case," he added.

Former Harambee Stars players, Kadir Farah and Mohammed Abbas, said people who have been actively involved in football at higher level should lead football.

"FIFA exhausted all avenues before reaching this extent," said Farah, who was a member of the FIFA/KFF normalization committee.

Abbas said time has come for the former players to be given a chance to lead the federation.

Source: Xinhua