Kenya: Mbarak Set to Name Line-Up On Monday

Charles Nyende

14 July 2011

Nairobi — Football Kenya chairman aspirant Twaha Mbarak will announce his line-up on Monday.

This comes hot on the heels of two other leading aspirants – Hussein Mohamed and Sammy Sholei – joining forces for their bid in the forthcoming election.

The 39-year-old Mbarak, who has been the KFF senior vice-chairman since 2006, said on Thursday he has widely consulted and would present a formidable team that would revive the flagging fortunes of local football.

“Everybody is talking about bringing change to our football but voters will have to look closely at each candidate and choose wisely,” the Mombasa-based businessman said. “Many people have come promising change but ended up a disappointment. You need to look at experience, and I have it. I also know there is need for change, and I can bring it.”

I have successfully managed business enterprises, and given the opportunity will turn around the management of football in this country,” Twaha said.

Mbarak, 39, has been the KFF senior vice-chairman since 2006. He is best remembered for leading KFF in challenging Fifa at the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

KFF filed a case in 2009 arguing that Fifa had illegally recognized a private limited company, Football Kenya Limited, as their representatives to run football in Kenya.

The federation however lost the case on technical grounds.

Whereas CAS ruled that Fifa had not rightfully applied the provisions of its statutes in accepting FKL as its sole representative in Kenya, the court rejected KFF’s application saying the transfer of running the game in the country to FKL from KFF in 2008 had gone on unchallenged.

Mbarak promised to bring back professional management to a football body owned by all Kenyans, to revive youth development and build youth centres country wide.

The KFF official played for Black Panthers and Coast Youth Combined under the late Kadir Farah in the early 1990s.

He urged the Independent Electoral Board to release the list of clubs for the nomination process and official campaign to proceed.The elections will be held on August 13.

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