We are being cheated and I hate being cheated! I am talking about local football. Right now it appears as if there is calm between FKF and KPL but far from it. For those of you who listened carefully to the Fifa “peace-maker” who was in the country recently, you heard what he said about the Premier League in Kenya and its management.
Little of what he ordered is being implemented. On the good side; the league is on but which league? Fifa ordered that KPL run the premier league for the next one year as discussions continue on having an 18 team league next year. Fifa ordered the premier league be called the FKF Premier League and that the federations continues to run its second tier league.
What was clear was that the top flight league, run by KPL should be called the FKF Premier League. If you’re on the KPL media emailing list, you will know that they are still calling the league the Kenyan Premier League. It was also made clear to FKF that their league would be a second tier league quote. A direct quote from the Fifa official was: “There will not be two top flight leagues. Fifa has its structures about relegation and promotion at the end of the season but we can’t run two parallel premier leagues.” If you’re on the FKF media emailing list, you will know that FKF is still calling their league the FKF Premier League.
When FKF boss Sam Nyamweya was interviewed after the Fifa briefing last week, it was evident that he had already misinterpreted the situation because he insisted that there would be two premier leagues although he was calling them “zones.” That “zone” idea was trashed by Fifa. So as we continue to enjoy live KPL football on Supersport and live FKF premier league football on Azzam TV, no-one seems to be addressing the elephant in the room.
An MOU needs to be signed by both parties in June; or is it July. The fact that both parties believe they are running the or “a” top flight league shows that we are headed for another confrontation. Watch this space! Meanwhile Phil Neville must have banged his head on something. He has predicted that Chelsea will win the premier league; which is a no-brainer; and then he begins to sound strange.
He predicts that Manchester United will finish second, Manchester City third and Liverpool fourth. Yes he has predicted that Arsenal will, for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal, finish outside of the top four. Gee! Liverpool without Steven Gerrard, Martin Skrtel and an injury prone Daniel Sturridge will be no competition for the Gunners tomorrow.
That will automatically cancel Liverpool out of the top four. The Manchester Derby is what will see Arsenal pip Man City to second spot. The rest will just fall into place. Man United won’t drop many points between now and the end of the season but the fact that Arsenal are ahead of them puts the Gunners in prime position to shine. That match between the two teams on the second last match day of the season, will be vital, but at worst, Arsenal will come out with a draw. The Gunners may not be playing the most beautiful football right now, but the results are coming through and right now, that’s what matters. I think our dear Phil needs a new career.
Talk to me on @CarolRadull on twitter or www.facebook.com/CarolRadull