Football Kenya Federation (FKF) presidential aspirant Omondi Aduda believes FKF have followed the law by using the FKF Electoral Code (2020) for their upcoming elections set for later this year.
On Saturday, an FKF National Executive Committee (NEC) approved the use of the 2020 Code for the exercise but some stakeholders feel it will lock out many aspirants from contesting. But according to Aduda, who once served as the FKF secretary under the Sam Nyamweya regime and as the CEO of FKF Premier League champions Gor Mahia, the laws of football in the country should be respected and that FKF are operating the same way the world governing body FIFA operates during their elections.
“There is no malice in using the FKF Electoral Code (2020) for the 2024 elections, aspiring candidates should not feel aggrieved that they are either being betrayed or being locked out of contesting, FKF are following the law as per the FIFA rules,” Aduda told Africa Top Sports.
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“Attending politically sponsored tournaments does not clear anyone to vie for any FKF seat, the FKF laws are very clear, and the FKF Code has all the laws that must be followed. Have you ever seen a none-member from FIFA contesting for any seat when they have elections? For example, Sepp Better was FIFA secretary before he got elected to be the President, Gianni Infantino was the boss at UEFA before he contested for FIFA presidency and won.”
He continued: “If you are a shareholder at KCB and Equity are having their AGM, why should you attend an Equity meeting, for what purpose and you are not among their shareholders? That is the same case with football; you must be a shareholder to attend their AGM. I want to repeat that FKF are following the law, and that is the case and it should not be seen that they are blocking others.”
Meanwhile, the NEC further resolved that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will ratify the FKF Electoral Board and the Electoral Code (2020) will be held on March 16 in Nairobi and also unanimously approved the calendar for all national teams, spanning senior team Harambee Stars, Junior sides, and women’s team, and approved the FKF competitions calendar for 2024, covering all federation’s leagues and competitions which will provide clarity for clubs and allowing them to plan for the season effectively.
At the same time, the NEC members discussed and adopted the FKF budget for 2024. The budget will allocate resources towards fulfilling FKF’s core objectives of developing football infrastructure, grassroots programs, elite players development, refereeing, and competitions.