Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Hussein Mohammed
Hussein Mohammed says the proposed Monday start is not final as the federation signals it is willing to negotiate a way forward
By Pascal Okoth
Football Kenya Federation President Hussein Mohammed yesterday moved to calm growing tensions with clubs opposed to the federation’s proposed league kick-off date, opening the door for fresh consultations and signalling that no decision had been set in stone.
The intervention came at a delicate moment for Kenyan football. Several top-flight clubs had raised concerns about the planned Monday start to the new season, questioning both the timing and the manner in which the announcement had been made. Mohammed’s response was measured — and notably conciliatory.
“Nothing is cast in stone,” he said, making clear that the proposed date remained open to revision depending on what emerged from further talks between the federation and the clubs. It was a marked shift in tone, and one that appeared to offer the affected teams a genuine avenue for engagement rather than a closed-door directive.
Mohammed also addressed a separate flashpoint that had added fuel to the controversy: the publication of fixtures earlier in the day. He distanced the federation’s leadership from that release, explaining that the Leagues and Competitions Department had moved ahead with publishing the schedule without authorisation from the top of the organisation. The department, he said, had been “too excited to see the league start” and had acted ahead of any conclusive agreement on the kick-off date.
The explanation did something to defuse the situation. Clubs that had been frustrated by what appeared to be a unilateral decision now had a clearer — if imperfect — picture of how the fixtures had ended up in the public domain before the conversation was finished. Whether that clarity is enough to restore confidence will depend largely on what happens next.
At the centre of this episode is a challenge that has long complicated Kenyan football administration: bringing all stakeholders along when decisions need to be made quickly, without leaving clubs feeling bypassed or blindsided. The FKF has been eager to get the new season underway, and that eagerness, it appears, got slightly ahead of process.
The Monday kick-off is now officially uncertain. While the federation had seemed ready to proceed, Mohammed’s comments indicate a genuine willingness to revisit the timetable if the clubs and the federation can reach a different agreement through dialogue. The key word, repeatedly, was consultation — and the tone suggested this was not simply a public relations exercise.
For the clubs, the next step is clear: engage with the federation, put their concerns on the table, and work towards a start date that works for everyone involved. FKF, for its part, has signalled it is listening.
What happens in those discussions will determine more than just a kick-off date. It will signal whether the federation and the clubs can operate as genuine partners in managing the league, or whether the familiar pattern of announcement, objection, and damage control continues to define the relationship.
Kenyan football has too much potential to keep losing momentum to avoidable friction. If yesterday’s intervention by Mohammed leads to a properly consulted, broadly supported start to the season, it will have been worth far more than the controversy that prompted it. The focus now shifts to those conversations — and to whether the goodwill on both sides is enough to get the country’s top-flight season started on solid ground.
A final decision on the league’s commencement date is expected once consultations between FKF officials and club representatives are concluded.
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