Caretaker Committee disbands Starlets camp, Kenya out of AWCON

Kenya has been suspended from all international football competitions because of government interference, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has announced.

The ban means no Kenyan team - including club sides vying for Confederation of African Football (CAF) tournaments - can play internationally.

It also means that neither the FKF nor any of its members or officials may benefit from any development programmes, courses or training from FIFA and/or CAF.

World football’s ruling body said the country will remain suspended until the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), which was dissolved last year by the Kenyan government is reinstated.

FIFA also announced it was banning Zimbabwe for similar reasons.

“We had to suspend two of our member associations – Kenya and Zimbabwe – both for government interference in the activities of football associations in these countries.

“These associations are suspended from all football activities with immediate effect. They know what needs to be done for them to be reinstated,” Infantino told a press conference.

Suspension reaffirms the most immediate effect that Kenya will not participate in the upcoming Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) qualifiers, which were due this month.

CAF announced on January 29 that Kenya's Harambee Starlets had withdrawn from the qualifying matches, effectively handing Uganda a ticket to the continental showpiece that will be held in July in Morocco.

CAF was acting in response to a letter from the ousted FKF CEO Barry Otieno that stated the national organisation was unable to carry out for preparations for the match because they had been stripped of those powers by the government and locked out of their offices.

That marked the clearest indication that a FIFA ban was looming, with CAF dismissing efforts by the FKF Caretaker Committee to have the qualifying matches proceed as planned.

Last year, the Sports CS Amina Mohamed announced she was disbanding FKF over the misappropriation of funds in a move that followed the arrest of federation boss Nick Mwendwa.

Below is a timeline of events that led to the suspension:

November 11 2021: The Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage of Kenya appoints a "caretaker committee" to run Kenyan football after dissolving the FKF over allegations of misappropriation of public funds and "an extended deterioration of the state of football management in Kenya".

November 12 2021: The caretaker committee announces it was suspending all top-tier football leagues. Later that day, the FKF President was arrested by the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigation and taken into custody.

November 14 2021: FIFA writes to the Cabinet Secretary urging her to reconsider her position and signalled its willingness to engage in discussions with her office in order to help normalise the situation. Eventually, on 17 and 23 November 2021, FIFA representatives and Amina held a videoconference call to discuss the situation of the FKF. The Cabinet Secretary referred, inter alia, to a court ruling on the inspection report and legality of the caretaker committee, which was due to be rendered on 16 December 2021.

November 26 2021: The FKF boss Mwendwa was rearrested, following which he took the decision to officially transfer his functions and responsibilities to his Vice-President, Doris Petra, in the context of his temporary absence. as per art. 42 par. 8 of the FKF Statutes.

December 15 2021: A virtual meeting between FIFA and the Cabinet Secretary was scheduled to discuss the latest developments relating to the expected court ruling, but ultimately it could not take place. Later on, FIFA was informed that the relevant court ruling was first postponed to 17 January, and eventually to 14 March 2022

January 20 2022: The caretaker committee issued a notice to all football stakeholders in Kenya calling on them to ensure that they complied with the Kenyan Sports Act within a specified period of time, so as to enable them to participate in "the upcoming FKF elections".

January 29 2022: CAF announces the withdrawal of Kenya from the AWCON, to which the caretaker committee calls a press conference in Naivasha to assure the qualifiers would proceed.

February 16 2022: Caretaker Committee disbands Harambee Starlets camp after efforts to get them to play at the AWCON qualifiers prove futile.

February 24 2022: FIFA announces the suspension of Kenya from all international football competitions.