The government has initiated a plan towards ending the stalemate pitting the country against the world football governing body, Fifa, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) head of secretariat, Lindah Oguttu has said.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, Oguttu said the government is burning the midnight oil to ensure that Kenyan teams are not locked out of competitions organized by the continental football governing body, Caf.
“You understand that both Fifa and Caf consider the Transition Committee to be a government agency and, therefore, there is no way the two bodies can't engage us in any conversation,” Oguttu said.
“All I can say now is that talks aimed at resolving the existing standoff are already ongoing and we are almost reaching a deal.
“I can't divulge the details because I would overstep my mandate but believe me, everything will be made public soon,” Oguttu assured football fans.
Caf released an outline for the preliminary rounds of the inter-club competitions scheduled to kick off in September 2022 with the finals planned for June 2023.
According to the guidelines released, the first legs of the first preliminary round in both sets of the continental showpieces — TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup — have been scheduled to kick off between September 9-11.
The return legs will take place a week later from 16-18 September.
The first leg of the second preliminary round matches will be staged in October before the return fixtures in November.
The group stages have been slated for February 10-12 and March 31-next year. The quarterfinals will be held in April and the semis in May. The finals of the competition will fall on a date between June 2-11.
The regulatory deadline for Member Associations to submit their engagement requests has been set for July 31.
The registration period for players eligible in the preliminary rounds will close on August 15, 2022, at midnight (Cairo local time).
“Accordingly, each club will be exceptionally allowed to register 40 players instead of the regulatory 30. Moreover, 9 substitutes will be allowed on the bench instead of the regulatory 7.”
The 12 highest ranked national associations, according to CAF’s latest Inter-clubs competitions rankings will be allowed to engage two teams in the two tournaments.
The countries given the privilege are Algeria, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guinea, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Tunisia.
Caf has also cleared the air on the number of substitutions allowed for each team in the two competitions.
“Following IFAB’s confirmation of making the five (5) substitution rule permanent and the validation of the Interclub and club license, Organizing Committee, the CAF Inter-club Competitions Organising Committee will extend the five (5) substitutions rule for the 2022/23 inter-club season.
If the government succeeds in breaking the ice, Tusker FC will fly the country's flag in the Caf Champions League. Kenya's representatives in the Confederation Cup are yet to be known given the tournament used to pick a team never took place in
