Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has postponed the start of the 2026/27 SportPesa Premier League season after a series of court orders issued in cases challenging the composition and commencement of the competition.
The league had been scheduled to kick off on Saturday, September 19, 2026, after FKF communicated the new date to clubs on September 10 and circulated the opening-round fixtures.
However, FKF said it was forced to suspend the start of the season after receiving multiple court applications and orders that directly affected the league’s commencement.
According to a statement issued on Saturday, the latest legal developments left the federation with “no other option” but to postpone the opening of the campaign.
The dispute centres on the participation of Mombasa United and a play-off involving Kariobangi Sharks.
FKF said the High Court in Murang’a had on August 28 issued directions allowing the federation to commence the 2026/27 league as scheduled. The federation subsequently set September 19 as the opening date.
However, on September 17, a fresh application in the Murang’a High Court case involving Evans Nduta and FKF resulted in a temporary injunction.
The order barred FKF, its officials, members, agents or anyone acting on its direction from proceeding with, playing or giving effect to Round One or subsequent rounds of the 2026/27 Kenya Premier League.
The court order requires FKF to first conduct a play-off between Kariobangi Sharks, which finished third from bottom in the 2025/26 Premier League, and Mombasa United, which finished third among the National Super League clubs that did not gain automatic promotion.
FKF also disclosed that Kariobangi Sharks had filed an application at the Milimani High Court Tribunal on September 16 seeking to stop the league from starting on September 19.
The court declined to issue injunctive orders on an ex parte basis and directed the parties to appear before it on September 21.
On Saturday, FKF was served with another application and petition at the Kiambu High Court by the Centre for Litigation.
The court issued a temporary order directing FKF to publish provisional revised fixtures incorporating Mombasa United as the 18th club and allowing the team to participate in the 2026/27 SportPesa Premier League, subject to FKF requirements.
FKF said the conflicting court orders created significant legal risks for the federation, its officials and participating clubs.
“Whereas FKF respects the courts and the rule of law, it expresses its reservations on the decisions made in these matters,” the federation said.
It further claimed that the developments amounted to “a systematic abuse of the judicial processes to frustrate and sabotage the growth of football in Kenya,” and raised concerns over what it described as third-party interference, contrary to the spirit of FIFA statutes.
The federation said it remained committed to ensuring the league begins as soon as possible.
“FKF remains committed to ensuring the league commences at the earliest time possible and remains optimistic that it will overcome the hurdles that remain a great impediment to development of football in Kenya,” it said.
The federation did not give a new date for the start of the 2026/27 season, saying the postponement was necessitated by the various court orders affecting the competition.