Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa has described his opponents as non-starters with nothing to offer Kenyan football.
Mwendwa said he is currently focused on improving football standards at the grassroots and not on the upcoming FKF presidential elections.
“For me, I am not soliciting for votes because I know I don’t have a strong opponent. All these so-called opponents are simply appearing on the list but are not popular at the grassroots,” Mwendwa said.
He added that his opponents have been running to Sports Disputes Tribunal to delay his inevitable victory.
“This issue of resolving football matters in court should stop. These opponents know that they cannot convince voters at the grassroots and that’s why they keep filing these applications to delay or stop the elections,” he said.
The football supremo has in the past one year found himself on the wrong side of SDT’s rulings beginning with the decision to cancel elections that had been originally designated for December 7, 2019.
Mwendwa lamented that SDT’s rulings are encouraging flimsy applications contrary to football statutes. "We are seeing all manner of applications from people who are not even football stakeholders and do not understand anything about football,” he said.
He blamed his predecessors for the problems his office is facing, including court cases by former coaches.
“They left us with a lot of debts, including hotel bills that we are still trying to offset. My aim is to ensure the federation operates debt-free by the time I leave office,” Mwendwa said. Elections for the top seat will be held on October 17, 2020 at the Safari Park Hotel.
Those hoping to unseat him include former Gor Mahia CEO Lordvick Aduda, Boniface Osano, Herbert Mwachiro and Dan Mule.
Mwendwa also sought to drum up support for the 5-year broadcasting partnership with StarTimes worth Sh1.2 billion.
“StarTimes broadcasts to 49 countries on the continent and this means that our football league will be watched in those countries. We will be able to attract more foreigners to our league as it was the case during the Supersport days,” he said.