Football administrator Twaha Mbarak has praised Fifa’s decision to lift its suspension on Kenya.
Mbarak, a former FKF Vice Chairman, has called for a collective approach in order to restore sanity in the management of the game.
Fifa on Monday lifted the suspension which was slapped on Kenya in February this year after the former Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed disbanded Football Kenya Federation citing alleged misappropriation of funds.
While praising Fifa for the move, Twaha also congratulated new Sports CS Ababu Namwamba for convincing the world football governing body to lift the suspension.
He said Namwamba’s sentiments that he will ensure that the law is followed even after the suspension has been lifted, shows that he is indeed committed to ensure that nobody mismanages football in the country for his own benefit.
“I want to congratulate Namwamba for successfully convincing Fifa to lift the ban. This will re-open the windows of opportunity for many stakeholders who earned their livelihood through football,” said Twaha.
“Namwamba should conclude the good work initiated by his predecessor; Ambassador Amina Mohamed of protecting the integrity of our game and restoring sanity and compliance to the rule of law,” he added.
Twaha asserted that this would only be achieved by providing a lasting solution to the confusion witnessed in Kenyan football after every four years.
Twaha, who is currently in Qatar watching the Fifa World Cup, regretted that some of Kenyan referees who were qualified to officiate in the World Cup missed out on the opportunity because of the suspension, saying Kenya should never again find itself in ta similar situation.
With Fifa indicating that it will send its representatives to the country to hear from stakeholders, Mbarak expressed optimism that Kenya will likely go the Normalisation Committee route which he believes is the best option before free and fair FKF elections are held.
“People have lost faith and confidence in the management of football because the holders of the office have blatantly refused to follow the Sports Act and Fifa statutes. Normalisation Committee will be the best step forward,” he said. BY DAILY NATION