Mwendwa: FKF ready to resume league after players take Covid-19 jab

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The federation boss calls on the government through Ministry of Sports to speed up the process and resume top-flight action

Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa is confident they have put all measures in place to have the government allow them to resume football activities in the country.

The FKF Premier League was halted indefinitely by President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 26, due to rising positive Covid-19 cases as a result of the coronavirus's third wave.

The decision to suspend sports came as a shock to many as it stopped the continuation of the top-tier, which had already seen 16 matches played, with Tusker topping the 18-team table with 36 points.

However, Mwendwa has explained to Goal they have asked the government to speed up the process of okaying the resumption of the top-flight insisting they will make sure all measures are put in place to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“First of all, I want to thank the government for making sure all players and officials in the top league have received the Covid-19 vaccine to protect themselves, the process was done without any hitch and we thank the government for their good work,” Mwendwa told Goal on Monday.

“My appeal to the government is to ask them they speed up the process of resuming football because this will help our national team Harambee Stars as they have World Cup qualifying matches coming up in June.

“We don’t want to have a situation where the league will be cancelled completely, I don’t think it will be necessary because we have shown previously that we can do the league with the tough Covid-19 measures in place and we hope they will allow us to continue the action.”

Mwendwa has further warned players who intend to skip the vaccination process they will not be allowed to play for their respective teams when the league resumes.

“After one is vaccinated, the ministry will issue a unique number which will be captured in the passport,” Mwendwa continued. “Those who will not have been vaccinated might not be allowed in the stadiums, we are taking this route to ensure there is minimum prevalence in the sports industry.”

Kakamega Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula has also joined Mwendwa in asking the government to facilitate the speedy resumption of football.

“My team has already taken the vaccine, we did it three days ago and I am asking the government to allow us to play football,” Shimanyula told Goal. “We hope the league will not be cancelled since we have invested a lot in the teams to see through the entire season.”

Goal understands, FKF has penciled April 24, as the date to resume league action.

2021-04-12 10:00:03

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