Football Kenya Federation Calls for Action against Match-Fixing

Football Kenya Federation urged lawmakers to take action against match-fixing during a workshop organized last week. The Federation acknowledged match-fixing as a “global menace” and called for the creation of a legal frame fighting against the activity.

FKF Organized Integrity Workshop Last Week

Disciplinary actions may soon be considered by lawmakers in Kenya against people involved in match-fixing. During an integrity workshop on Saturday last week, organized by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) at Utalii Hotel in Nairobi, the Federation’s CEO, Barry Otieno urged lawmakers to take action against match-fixing.

Otieno, who was recently cited by KenyaOnlineNews, deemed match-fixing as a “global menace”. Furthermore, he stressed that those workshops are mainly organized to educate, detect, and prevent match-fixing. According to Otieno, the workshop on Saturday is the first of many workshops which FKF has planned.

The Federation to Draft a Proposal with the Help of Football Stakeholders and FIFA

FKF’s CEO revealed that by engaging football stakeholders and addressing the issue, the Federation is planning to draft a proposal, which then can be forwarded to the lawmakers for legislation.

Furthermore, Otieno said that by meeting the stakeholders at these integrity workshops, FKF together with FIFA will come up with the draft policy of the regulatory framework which may be voted as a law by the country’s legislature. Besides FIFA, FKF’s CEO revealed that the Federation is also collaborating with betting firms to fight against match-fixing and help detection and sensitization.

Legal Framework against Match-Fixing Is Currently Missing

Supporting its statement that a legal framework against match-fixing is needed, Otieno revealed that the Federation is allowed to take actions only against its members if found guilty of match-fixing. However, according to him, KFK’s “hands are tied” when it comes to taking actions against people involved in match-fixing outside of the Federation.

An example that Otieno gave is that the Federation has made efforts against match-fixers who were arrested. However, considering that there is no law in place to prosecute them, those individuals were later released.