Shikanda speaks minutes after a meeting with Amina’s transition committee, reveal next move ahead of controversial season
Football Kenya Federation Transition Committee met Kenya Premier League clubs on Monday for a review of last season and plan about the upcoming campaign set to kick off on August 27.
Representatives of majority clubs who attended the meeting at Nyayo national stadium reiterated their commitment in support of the interim body mandated to run Kenyan football .
According to AFC Leopards Chairman Dan Shikanda, the top flight faced a few challenges which as league stakeholders in partnership with Transition Committee they are ready to iron out before the league kick off.
“Nothing like this has taken place before in terms of federation meeting club chairmen and CEOs to deliberate on ways of reviewing and making the league better.It is been a great engagement as we’ve touched on Transfer Matching Systems(TMS),ways to improve our officiating standards, broadcasting partnerships,curbing hooliganism among others.If well executed, we will be one of the best leagues in Africa” noted Shikanda.
According to leagues and competitions chairman Ali Amour, there are plans to develop a transfer system which would help monitor the movement of players at the club level to curb cases of FIFA sanctions on clubs over violation of transfer regulations.
“Kenyan clubs have reportedly missed out on millions of dollars in transfer dealings and we hope the new measure will help fix the problem.What we seek to do is compel the club benefiting from transfers to seek approval from the home club and FIFA before a transfer is approved” he said.
Amour also disclosed the committee is in the process of releasing a handbook which will present critical insights of the local game hence exploring key themes ranging from rules and regulations to structural mechanisms governing the sport.
In a move that was backed by members present as a step in the right direction, Amour said the document will adress cutting edge topics such as analytics,league fixtures,sporting merit,team profiles and overall state of the game.
“Soccer is the world’s most valuable sport, generating bigger revenues, as well as being watched and played by more people, than any other. It is virtually impossible to understand the business of sport without understanding the football industry. This book surveys contemporary football in unparalleled breadth and depth ” he added.
Gor Mahia Chief Executive Officer Raymond Oruo on his part urged fellow club representatives to respect the content of agreement between teams and the body that runs and manages the top tier.
“Handbook of last premier league eras contained same content we’re talking about but that was not followed to the latter hence we need to create a precedence where we honour agreements of some of these robust discussions we are having” remarked Oruo
Chairman of Referees Committee Cesar Handa acknowledged the improved status of officiating, further saying they will continue with the training programmes of match officials to enhance fair,balanced and impartial overseeing of the premier league matches.
“In terms of officiating, there has been challenges but overally the league ended with a few incidents. Appointment of match officials is done weekly by a committee,digitisation process is ongoing and this will help transform the beautiful game.Pre-season PET training will take place in a bid to boost the standardised officiating of league matches.We are committed to make our game better” he affirmed
