Namwamba: Why I flew to Doha to meet Infantino

Sports, Youth and Arts Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has underscored the importance of the meeting he had with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in Qatar, saying a lot was achieved through it.

 The CS said that the reason he flew to Qatar last week was to hold talks with the FIFA Secretariat in order to identify the way forward for the Kenyan football.

Speaking on Royal Media's Citizen TV Tuesday night, Namwamba said that the meeting was crucial as he had good chance to elucidate on the government's position on the state of football in the country.

"It was necessary given that I took oath of office when the FIFA Secretariat was packing bags ahead of the ongoing World Cup, yet I really needed to meet them. I had only spoken to them on phone, and it was necessary to have a physical meeting."

Namwamba, who revealed the meeting led to the listing of the suspension Kenya had been slapped with since February 2022, said a lot was lost during the suspension.

“Kenyan football does not benefit from this suspension. The suspension has diminished the allure of Kenyan football more than it has added any shine. So I did stress upon FIFA that if indeed they are interested in the development of football in Kenya, it was in the interest of that agenda for that suspension to be lifted,” he added.

Namwamba further cited that football stakeholders need to be more transparent if football is to make any strides in the country, as the letter by FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura written to his office stressed.

“I did stress to FIFA that what led us to this suspension was questions around integrity. Even with the lifting of the suspension, FIFA remains alive to those integrity issues including the active court cases and that is reflective of the deal I struck with FIFA.

“Yes, the suspension will be lifted, but they must not close their eyes to the integrity issues around football.”

The suspension meant Kenya was barred from taking part in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers while the women's team - Harambee Starlets failed to play in two-legged qualifiers for the World Cup against Uganda.

Last season’s domestic leagues were declared null and void.