Kenya may not field a representative in this year’s Caf Confederation Cup should the present situation occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic persist, FKF CEO Barry Otieno has said.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) had written to Football Kenya Federation (FKF) seeking to know how it was planning to settle the matter concerning the suspended leagues and requested, if possible, to be given the name of Kenya’s representatives in the Champions League and the Caf Confederation Cup.
It now seems highly unlikely, though, that the federation will submit a name for the Caf Confederation Cup after the competition that was put in place to pick the country’s representative, the FKF Shield Cup, failed to conclude following a government ban on public gatherings. The Caf Cup qualifiers are scheduled to take place from 9 August – 3 November 2020 with the competition beginning on December 1st.
Otieno said that it will impossible to determine the team to fly the country’s flag in the continental competition given that there were no clear laws to guide the federation through the process of submitting a name unlike in the case of the Champions League where Gor Mahia were declared Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions in line with the FKF statutes.
“We could not manage to give a name for the competition because we don’t have rules which govern the domestic cup. It is easier to submit Gor Mahia’s name for Champions League competition because we used rule six of the FKF statutes but in domestic cup we don’t have any rules that can be applied, and that is why Kenya is likely to miss a representative next season.
At the time of the outbreak, eight teams were still contention for the FKF Shield Cup whose winners usually represent the country in the Caf Confederation Cup.
AFC Leopards, Kariobangi Sharks and Ulinzi Stars had advanced through to the quarters, while matches pitting KCB against Wazito, Posta Rangers against Gor Mahia and Sofapaka against Bandari matches were not played after some of the sides decided to give the events a wide berth citing concern for the health of their players and officials.
Otieno’s statement served to reiterate what the federation’s president Nick Mwendwa had said at the weekend during an interview with a local radio station.
Mwendwa had said that should the coronavirus pandemic take longer than expected, Kenya may not be well placed to determine a representative.
“If Covid-19 stops us then we will not enter a team in the Caf Confederation Cup,” said Mwendwa.
The CAF Confederation Cup came into existence after the merger of CAF Cup and African Cup Winners’ Cup. The winners will earn the right to play against the winners of the CAF Champions League in the 2021 CAF Super Cup in August.
Kenya was last represented by Bandari in the 2018-19 season.
