Finally, after almost two decades, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) regained control of the top league after the contract with the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Limited, which had been in charge since 2013, lapsed.Federation president Nick Mwendwa declined to extend KPL’s mandate and as the custodians of the game opted to go solo and manage the league on their own.It was not a smooth transition for the federation, there were wrangles, court cases, and defiance from some clubs like Zoo, Gor Mahia, Ulinzi Stars, and Mathare United who blatantly refused to sign consent letters and after weeks of accusations and counter-accusations, all the teams came on board. The Big Interview with ex-Gor Mahia midfielder Tobias OtienoThe 2020/21 season started on 28th November 2020 and run up until August 22nd, 2021. In between, there was a one-month stoppage in March occasioned by the suspension of sporting activities in the country due to surging cases of Covid-19 in the country. Fortunately, after the restart, the league ran smoothly to its conclusion where Tusker were crowned champions on the final day.Ten talking points from 2021 FKF Premier LeagueTusker clips Gor Mahia’s dominance Tusker ended Gor Mahia’s five-year dominance by winning the 2021 title, the title was Robert Matano’s third making him the most successful coach in the local scene. Gor on the other hand, finished in the eighth position, their lowest in a decade, KCB also registered their best ever finish in the league when they came in second, Western Stima got relegated from the FKF Premier League and ended up handing Muhoroni Youth their slot while Mathare United cheated on the drop in what was a hectic and troubled campaign for the Slum Boys. Vihiga United also went down after losing out to Kenya Police in the FKF PL/NSL playoff.2020/21 FKF Premier League Champions. Tusker Football Club.#FKFPL pic.twitter.com/Na0Ako1OMY— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) August 22, 2021 Match-fixing allegations Match-fixing also reared its ugly face in the game once again, this resulted in the suspension of five referees over alleged involvement in the vice while Zoo FC suffered the biggest blow when they were relegated by FIFA after their former players were found guilty of engaging in the vice, the club contested the decision vehemently but eventually agreed to play in the second tier this season.There are three or four notorious refs who are missing from the list of suspended match officials from FKF. Two of them are Fifa refs. Kitaeleweka. But I’m pretty shocked Ray is part of this mess. He’s a decent ref, on most days.— Japheth Mutinda (@JaphMutinda) July 30, 2021 Henry Meja moves to SwedenAfter a great season with Tusker FC, Meja completed his transfer to AIK of Sweden from Tusker FC. He scored eleven league goals during the 2020/21 season and set up eight others. The good run not only earned him national team call-ups but also drew the attention of AIK who completed his swoop. He is set to link up with his new club in January.🚨JUST IN🚨@tusker_fc’s Henry Meja has secured a 5-year deal with Sweden’s @aikfotboll which is also Eric Ouma’s club. Meja only played one season in the top tier and won the title. No more missing AIK’s matches for sure💯Congratulations Meja, all the best.#FFP pic.twitter.com/euIqAaSh7o— Friends of Football (@friendsofutball) September 3, 2021 Partners exitThe start of 2020/21 season looked very promising for Kenyan football when the federation signed multi-million deals with a betting firm and Chinese broadcaster, Startimes. The two would however last for just a season as the betting firm terminated its sponsorship deal in August while Startimes exited the Kenyan league in November following the disbandment of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF). The phone call that changed Ferdinand Omanyala’s life in 2021StarTimes Withdraws FKF PL Broadcast Rights Sponsorship: We regret to announce that we have taken the painful decision to withdraw our media and commercial rights sponsorship with the now disbanded Football Kenya Federation.#StarTimes pic.twitter.com/02e4Ftl09p— StarTimes Kenya (@StarTimesKE) November 25, 2021 Erick Kapaito recordThe then Kariobangi Sharks striker set up two records during the season. He first surpassed Jesse Were’s 2015 record of 22 goals by scoring 24, the highest goal-tally a season, however, remains a subject of contention. The striker also became the first player in recent years to bag player of the year awards. Having won 2018 one, the striker added the 2021 award to his collection.🎖️| Erick Kapaito of @k_sharksfcWins the MVP award season 2021/21 #FKFPLAwards pic.twitter.com/cG5yyadkTJ— FKF Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) September 14, 2021 Change of guardsSix teams in the league changed coaches in 2021. Kakamega Homeboyz appointed Bernard Mwalala as Nicholas Muyoti’s replacement. Muyoti then moved to Nairobi City Stars to replace Sanjin Alagic. Gor Mahia hired Mark Harrison as Vaz Pinto’s successor, while Stephen Ochola replaced Benjamin Nyangweso at Ulinzi Stars. Frank Ouna left Mathare United for Musanze of Rwanda, Ezekiel Akwana took over the Slum Boys while Abdallah Juma succeeded Evans Mafuta at Vihiga Bullets.OFFICIALFormer Western Stima head coach, Juma Abdallah is the new Vihiga Bullets head coach. He replaces Evans Mafuta who took over as boss in September.Juma suffered relegation with Stima and he is now be tasked with turning the fortunes of Bullets around.#FKFPL pic.twitter.com/EjobVi795s— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) November 9, 2021 Player vs Club legal tussles / transfer bansIt was a year that Kenyan clubs found themselves on the wrong side of FIFA laws for unlawful termination of player contracts and this resulted in huge fines in addition of transfer bans. Sofapaka, Gor Mahia, and AFC Leopards all found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Sofapaka were sued by Justin Mico and Nana Ameyaw. Gor Mahia on the other hand were reported to FIFA by Dickson Ambundo, Shafik Batambuze, and coach Steven Pollack. Leopards on the other hand were sued by coach Andre Casa Mbungo, players Soter Kayumba, Vincent Habamahoro, and Tresor Ndikumana. All these cases resulted in FIFA bans before all the parties agreed on a payment plan. Gor would later be dealt a major blow for breaching their initial ban and were slapped by a further two-window embargo.🚨JUST IN🚨🇰🇪 Huge blow as Kenyan record champions Gor Mahia have been slapped with a second transfer ban by FIFA for failing to pay Ghanaian midfielder Stephen Owusu his dues amounting to Ksh3M.#FFP pic.twitter.com/vmGi5zUqmv— Friends of Football (@friendsofutball) October 7, 2021 RetirementsA number of players exited the scene in 2021. At Posta Rangers, veterans Joackins Atudo, Joseph Mbugi, and Simon Mbugua all retired, Mbugi has since assumed the role of a trainer at Posta. Bandari’s Duncan Otewa equally hang up his boots. Sofapaka’s Willis Ochieng called it a day and joined the club’s technical bench.’Transition’Former captains of Nzoia Sugar FC (Peter Gin) and Posta Rangers FC (Joseph Mbugi) take up technical roles in their respective teams for the 2021/22 FKF PL season.#footke pic.twitter.com/8owleExWXV— Footballers Of Our Time (@TransferMarktEA) October 24, 2021 MisfortunesJust like in any normal society, there were misfortunes that hit the FKF Premier League. Budding Sofapaka midfielder Wisdom Naya was diagnosed with Soft Tissue Sarcoma, referee Nicholas Omondi passed on after succumbing to injuries he picked in a road accident, FKF Kisumu branch Chairman Dickson Oruko also died after a short illness.Wisdom Naya will fly to India tomorrow to begin his Soft Tissue Sarcoma treatment.The family is grateful for the support given so far but they are still short of Ksh. 550k and they are urging well-wishers to channel their contribution through Paybill number 8043369. pic.twitter.com/7jY66NvrJP— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) December 13, 2021 Disbandment of FKFIn November the government moved to disband the federation over alleged misappropriation of funds at the federation that ended FKF’s running of the league. The installed FKF Caretaker Committee then took over the running of all football activities in the country including running of the top tier.##EDITORS_CHOICE##
