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Mwendwa dismisses critics over perceived FKF-Kariobangi Sharks conflict of interest
Questions have often been raised on whether the FA boss will discharge his duties fairly without favouring the top-tier side
Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa has stated he would not leave his position for being associated with Premier League side Kariobangi Sharks.
Critics have complained being FKF president and at the same time maintaining an association with Sharks would lead to a conflict of interest, but Mwendwa is adamant that this would not be the case since there are rules that govern football.
He gave an example of Caf president Patrice Motsepe who was elected despite owning the Premier Soccer League side Mamelodi Sundowns.
"I would not be here if I did not have Kariobangi Sharks, because I could not have been elected president," Mwendwa told Citizen TV.
"I was elected because I was the chair of Kariobangi Sharks, and if you look across Africa, there are 12 presidents who own clubs like me. They are in Senegal, Sierra Leone, and in many other countries that I can mention.
"The Caf president [Patrice Motsepe] himself has Sundowns and he can not leave his club because we have told him to take up the Caf job. We all have clubs, but there is no unfairness that is permeated because somebody has a club. We have a structure in place that governs the game.
"We have Fifa and Caf ethics in place that ensures, for example, the Caf president will not help his South African club in any way."
Meanwhile, Mwendwa supported the idea of having local players dominate the national team.
In the last African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Egypt and Togo, Kenya head coach Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee overlooked foreign-based players including Erick Johanna, Johanna Omollo, Victor Wanyama, and Ayub Timbe, and relied on players who were majorly drawn from the Premier League.
To Mwendwa, that was a good move to help such players get accustomed to international competitions.
"But look at our last two games, especially the one against Togo it mostly featured local players, which means players from AFC Leopards, Wazito and Mathare United have already been incorporated into the national team," he continued.
"We want to have them play in the top competitions so that we can continue relying on them as a country."
Kenya will next participate in the World Cup qualifiers that will begin in September.
