Kenya orders soccer chiefs to sort out chaos

The Kenyan government has ordered the Kenya Football Federation (KFF) to sort out chaos before Saturday to enable the east African nation to return to international football.

Sports Minister Maina Kamanda said failure to do this would force him to take unspecified measures next week.

"I want to assure Kenyans that we will not stay in limbo for long. Within two weeks we will be back, but KFF must show commitment that they are willing to work out a way to get the ban lifted," Maina said.

"I am giving them time until they hold their (Special Delegates) meeting on Saturday failure to which I will give my word on Monday," the minister said.

He expressed concern that plans he has put in place to turn around the national team Harambee Stars will be put in jeopardy if the ban stays.

He pointed out the country's preparations for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 World Cup that will be affected.

"I want to promise Kenyans that this will be the shortest ban imposed on Kenya as we will work hard to make sure FIFA's conditions are implemented," he told reporters late Wednesday.

Kamanda said he has given KFF delegates meeting this Saturday an opportunity to deal with the situation before he takes appropriate action.

"Let me see what the delegates will do before I come in," the minister said.

He said he was not party to the contentious 28-point agreement signed in Cairo, Egypt when he led a delegation to meet FIFA in January this year.

"All I know are the main issues which were to have Alfred Sambu reinstated as KFF chairman and the appointment of Dan Omino as secretary. If they signed some other agreements after I had left, then they must honour them," Kamanda said.

"We have given the KFF management all the support they require because we want to build football. We are tired of politics at KFF, we want to see football grow," Kamanda said.

The world's football governing body, FIFA, suspended Kenya from international football on Wednesday for failing to respect signed agreements to resolve the persistent chaos in the country's federation.

According to a statement from the game's governing body, the suspension will be in force until the agreements reached have been fully implemented.

The minister spoke as FIFA officially confirmed the suspension of Kenya via a letter to the KFF chairman Alfred Sambu.

KFF secretary Dan Omino confirmed receiving the communication and has called an emergency meeting of the KFF National Executive Committee on Saturday to discuss the matter "and come up with a quick solution."

The KFF incurred FIFA's wrath for failing to put a number of measures in place by a deadline of Wednesday 18 October.

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

FIFA wanted Kenya Premier League Limited (KPL) to run a league featuring 18 clubs but the KFF set up a company, KFF PL, to run a 20-team league.

A meeting was held between the rival bodies on 2 October and a unified league was to start two weeks later.

Yet both sides then came up with parallel fixtures, which ended with a bizarre situation at the weekend when one team was scheduled to play two different matches on the same day in the two different leagues.

FIFA's Emergency Committee took the decision following a recommendation from their committee for national associations after the KFF failed to respect a 28-point agreement signed in January.

Source: Xinhua