Kenya Premier League clubs on Monday agreed to start preparations for the upcoming season.
Representatives of 14 topflight clubs met amid anticipation that the world football governing body, Fifa, could soon lift the suspension imposed on the country earlier in the year.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting at a Nairobi hotel, Gor Mahia chief executive officer Raymond Oruo said they had set new registration dates for players.
“We resolved that the Fifa connect portal that we use to register players will be open for 30 days between October 21 and November 21," Oruo said.
“A lot has happened in the last 10 months and we need to update the system in anticipation of the start of the league,” he added.
Oruo said they anticipate playing during the World Cup period to reduce the backlog that will arise due to the late kick-off dates.
“When you work backward and look at the June 30 deadline set by Caf for declaration of representatives, we anticipate that the league will kick off between November 12-20. This will give us at least a month to prepare for the new season.”
Oruo said they plan to initiate steps to resolve the Fifa standoff.
“The key step would be the communication by the Sports Cabinet Secretary and you know the vetting process is ongoing in Parliament.
“From our thinking, any decision that is not taken before the kick-off of the World Cup on Nov 20 will mean things will be done after the tournament which is next year so there are some set timelines that need to be ticked and action taken so that we resume before.”
FKF CEO Barry Otieno who attended the meeting touched on the importance of resuming the league as soon as possible.
Also present at the meeting were chief executives Patrick Korir (Nairobi City Stars), Victor Bwibo (Leopards), Linda Ambiyo (Kariobangi Sharks), Samuel Abani (Ulinzi) and Sam Njogu (Tusker).
Other clubs that sent representatives included Bidco United, Posta Rangers, Vihiga Bullets, Mathare United, Police FC, Sofapaka, Wazito and KCB.
