FKF attacks KSSSA organisers, warns sponsors

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After the successful completion of the Airtel Rising Stars Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association national games on Saturday 11 August in Mombasa, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has launched a scathing attack on the tournament’s organisers for what it termed fielding ineligible players.

Seek clearance

In a press release by the federation, the country’s football governing body also cited the use of unqualified referees and the organisers’ failure to seek the federation’s blessings ahead of the tournament as factors that watered down the whole essence of the tournament and urged sponsors of future tournaments to seek clearance from the federation first.

- Football Kenya Federation has noted with deep concern that reports emerging from the recently concluded school ball games has exposed damaging revelations of age cheating by schools hence the fielding of ineligible players.

Mandatory

- As the body mandated to run football in the country, we find these reports disturbing, since the organizers failed to vet the players before the tournament a mandatory requirement in youth football.

- The aim of any age group football is to develop skills and nurture the talent, but the organisers failed to ensure a level playing ground thus killing the spirit of fair play, the release read in part.

Unqualified referees

- We also noted that the organizers appointed unqualified referees during the tournament. It is paramount that the match officials be conversant with the changing laws of the game.

- As a federation we insist that all football related tournaments must be sanctioned (by the federation) and the rules and regulations must also be submitted in advance for our perusal and advice.

- Sponsors of such tournaments will even get more mileage and credibility by engaging the federation in the planning and administration of such tournaments. As a federation, in conjunction with Coca Cola, we staged a very successful Copa Coca Cola tournament that was also used to select the National U17 boys’ team that will take part in the Africa youth championships match against Tanzania this September.

This is the standard procedure followed all over the world and we herby inform all potential sponsors of any football related activity to note and act accordingly, it ended.