NAIROBI, Kenya, August 29, 2026 – Reports that the High Court in Murang’a has issued a go-ahead for the start of the 2026/27 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League has given a glimmer of hope that action will resume on the pitch sooner than had been expected.
Sources at the federation intimate that the league may start as early as next weekend, a week after they had been scheduled to start before an earlier order from the High Court put paid to such plans.
Yesterday’s ruling allegedly decreed that the league can proceed — calming earlier fears that it was set to delay by over a month.
However, the ruling also reportedly demands that the league can only continue under the 2019 rules and regulations and not 2025/26 — which has been the subject of a protracted legal tussle.
This exposes another underbelly and a potential cul-de-sac for FKF even as they hope that the league commences in a weekend’s time.
Number one, it brings up the question of whether the federation will have to rejig the fixtures that earlier included Mombasa United and excluded Kariobangi Sharks.
Sharks, who finished 16th in the last season and, as a result were relegated from the top tier, have contested the 2025/26 rules and regulations, which condemned them to the chop.
Under the regulations, instituted midway through the season, the bottom three teams — in this case, Sharks, Bidco United and Sofapaka — were relegated to the National Super League (NSL).
At the same time, Migori Youth, 3K FC and Mombasa United — which finished first, second and third respectively in the NSL — were elevated to the top tier.
Under the previous (2019) regulations, Sharks and Mombasa would have faced each other in a two-legged promotion/relegation playoff.
Noteworthy is that Sharks have already lost a case at the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) in which they sought to have the 2025/26 guidelines declared null and void for the argument that they were not subjected to public participation before ratification by FKF’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Question is, while stakeholders await a final resolution to the matter, will FKF exclude Sharks and Mombasa United from the fixtures while the league continues?
Secondly, under the 2019 regulations, the number of foreign players in each team was capped at five but in the new guidelines, it has been increased to seven.
A number of clubs, such as Gor Mahia, Kenya Police, Nairobi United and Tusker have shopped heavily in foreign markets, buying a number of players in line with the 2025/26 guidelines.
With the return to the 2019 regulations, it presents a legal headache for the affected teams who may have to offload some of the foreigners in their playing ranks — effectively incurring additional expenses through contract termination.
Overall, there is the risk of more courtroom battles as other teams protest the ‘violation’ of the foreign quota by these aforementioned clubs.
Looking at these scenarios, what may seem as a light at the end of the tunnel may actually be a train approaching, a situation that may cause more casualties.
It may be that the solution lies outside of court corridors, to establish a middle ground from which all the parties concerned can build a lasting remedy that takes the game forward — and not backwards.
