FKF league winners Gor Mahia celebrate after being declared champions/COURTESYFootball Kenya Federation has postponed the start of the 2026/27 SportPesa Premier League after a series of court orders disrupted plans to kick off the season Saturday.
FKF said the decision was necessary to avoid exposing the federation, clubs and officials to legal risks arising from the orders issued by courts in Murang’a, Nairobi and Kiambu.
The postponement came after Kariobangi Sharks and other parties filed cases challenging the league’s commencement and the composition of the 18-team competition.
FKF said the latest court orders had created uncertainty over whether matches could lawfully proceed, with one order specifically threatening to invalidate results played before a required promotion-relegation play-off is conducted.
The federation said the High Court in Murang’a had on August 28 issued directions allowing it to commence the 2026/27 league as scheduled.
“On the strength of the court's directions, the Federation communicated on the 10th September 2026 that the SportPesa League 2026/2027 season would commence on the 19th September 2026 and proceeded to circulate Round 1 fixtures to all the clubs,” FKF said in a statement.
However, the release of the fixtures was followed by a series of legal applications.
On September 16, Kariobangi Sharks filed an application at the Milimani High Court Tribunal against FKF, Andrew Leif and another party, seeking orders stopping the league from starting on September 19.
FKF said the court declined to issue the orders on an ex parte basis and directed the parties to appear before it on September 21.
A separate application was filed the following day at the Murang’a High Court in the case of Evans Nduta versus FKF.
The court issued a temporary injunction barring FKF, its officers, agents, members or anyone acting on its direction from proceeding with matches or giving effect to results from the first round or subsequent rounds.
The order requires FKF to first conduct a play-off between Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United, in line with Rule 2.9.1.
Kariobangi Sharks finished as the third-lowest placed club in the 2025/26 Premier League, while Mombasa United were the third-highest placed club in the National Super League that did not earn automatic promotion.
FKF was then served with another application and petition on Saturday in the Kiambu High Court in a case filed by the Centre for Litigation.
The court issued a temporary order directing the federation to publish provisional revised fixtures including Mombasa United as the 18th club and allow the team to participate in the 2026/27 SportPesa Premier League, subject to FKF requirements.
FKF said the different orders made it impossible to proceed with Saturday's fixtures.
“With the league scheduled to commence on the 19th September 2026, and the various court orders issued, the Federation was left with no other option but to postpone the commencement,” the federation said.
It added that proceeding with the matches could expose the federation and clubs to significant risks, “most importantly on the effect of the matches being played cognizant of the direct nature of the orders issued by the court in Murang'a including the threat of the subsequent results being nullified.”
FKF said it respected the courts and the rule of law but expressed reservations about the decisions.
“The Federation respects the courts and the rule of law,” FKF said, while arguing that the cases amounted to “a systematic abuse of the judicial processes to frustrate and sabotage the growth of football in Kenya.”
The federation also cited FIFA statutes on third-party interference, saying the legal disputes posed an impediment to the development of football.
The postponement drew criticism from Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, who questioned the repeated disruption of the league through court action.
“Kenya Premier League suspended yet again! Any other frivolous court order!” Cheruiyot said.
Cheruiyot added: “I doubt if there is any other country in the world where a judge can suspend a football season indefinitely without a care of the cost of their actions.”
FKF said it remained committed to starting the league at the earliest opportunity and was optimistic that the outstanding legal issues would be resolved.
