The Batoto ba Mungu president says the issue of whether to end the league and award K’Ogalo should be handled with care
Sofapaka president Elly Kalekwa believes awarding Gor Mahia the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) trophy if league ends prematurely owing to the coronavirus pandemic will result in a lot of court cases.
The Kenyan top-flight is currently suspended indefinitely as the country tries to fight and contain the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected several sporting activities across the world.
The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa feels the federation rules allow Gor Mahia to be awarded the trophy if the league ends prematurely while the KPL has maintained the winner can only be decided with guidelines from the other leagues in Europe and Africa.
However, the Batoto ba Mungu boss believes a decision to award Gor Mahia the trophy will elicit anger amongst clubs in the league, especially those facing relegation, and might bring problems to start a new season.
“I am not against Gor Mahia being crowned the champions if the league ends today but what I know the move will bring a lot of cases in the end,” Kalekwa told Goal on Sunday.
“Those teams down there, I mean the teams fighting relegation, will not take the move lightly, a team can proudly say we had nine matches to play and I was sure I will win to stay in the league, so what will you do in such a scenario?
“Chemelil Sugar, Kisumu All-Stars are all ready to fight and stay in the top-flight and when you end the league prematurely and say the season has concluded, then you must have answers to give them otherwise we will have court battles which we might take time to solve and might delay the start of the new season.”
When asked what he feels should be done if the league ends prematurely, Kalekwa told Goal. “We have to wait and get guidance from other leagues, teams have spent money to play in the league and cancelling the same will be a waste of money.
“I think we can still play the nine rounds of matches we have remaining and get a rightful winner and also get the teams to be relegated, it is a very delicate matter which does not need speed to solve, we must be very careful on how to handle this situation or else it will bring more problems to the league.”
Gor Mahia are topping the 17-team table on 54 points, seven more than second-placed Kakamega Homeboyz while Tusker are third on 46 points.
The defending champions have played one more match than the chasing pack.
Be the first to comment