FKF vice-president McDonald Mariga says he funds his own trips to support Kenya’s national teams.
Mariga accuses FKF leaders of sidelining him, while president Hussein Mohammed blames dissenting officials for stalled reconciliation talks.
The FKF leadership rift has drawn fresh accusations from vice-president McDonald Mariga, who says he funds his own match trips. He accused federation leaders of sidelining him and refusing to cover travel and accommodation costs.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mariga said he continues attending Kenya’s national team matches because of his love for football. However, his differences with FKF president Hussein Mohammed remain unresolved despite efforts to bring the rival camps together.
Mariga outlines personal costs amid FKF leadership rift
Mariga said he buys his own tickets and pays for accommodation when travelling to support national teams. He believes the federation should meet those expenses, but said its leadership has declined to do so.
As examples, he cited a trip to Dar es Salaam for the under-23 team and an under-17 match against Uganda. During the latter visit, he said officials told him he would need to pay to stay at the hotel.
Despite those difficulties, the former Inter Milan midfielder said he would continue attending matches at his own expense. He linked that decision to his commitment to football, rather than his position within the federation.
Mariga also said he receives no salary from FKF. He added that members of the National Executive Committee, or NEC, do not receive pay from the federation.
Mohammed blames rival camp for stalled talks
Meanwhile, Mohammed accused the dissenting NEC members of blocking his attempts to resolve the dispute. Addressing the media on Wednesday, he said he had arranged meetings to seek common ground.
However, the FKF president claimed rival officials had either missed those meetings or raised fresh demands. A planned Wednesday meeting also failed to proceed because it lacked the required quorum.
Mohammed then signalled that he intended to move forward without the dissenting members. He argued that seven people should not hold back the wider Kenyan football community.
Despite the divisions, he maintained that federation activities would continue. He also insisted that officials must use FKF’s constitutional structures to settle their differences.
Mohammed identified the FKF Congress as the federation’s highest governing body. He said it would ultimately determine the direction of Kenyan football, within the federation’s rules and procedures.
Disagreement over outstanding issues
Mariga’s faction, however, offered a different account of why the latest talks broke down. Its members said they attended a NEC meeting on Tuesday and presented 13 issues for resolution.
According to the group, discussions addressed only four issues that day. Members said they had agreed to return on Wednesday to discuss the remaining nine.
The faction alleged that Mohammed instead called a formal NEC meeting before the outstanding matters could be resolved. Its members said that decision prompted them to withdraw from the process.
The dispute escalated in April, when Mariga and some NEC members attempted to suspend Mohammed. The group raised accusations against both the president and acting chief executive Dennis Gicheru.
FIFA subsequently said the attempted suspension did not follow the required procedures and urged dialogue. However, reconciliation efforts have yet to produce a lasting agreement, with both camps blaming each other for the impasse.
