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Football Kenya Federation (FKF) vice-president McDonald Mariga has accused the federation’s leadership of sidelining him, revealing that he pays for his own travel and accommodation when attending national team matches.
The former Inter Milan midfielder says the situation reflects the deepening divisions within FKF, where his differences with president Hussein Mohammed and the federation’s leadership have remained unresolved despite attempts to broker a truce.
Mariga said he continues to support Kenya’s national teams out of passion for the game, even when doing so means meeting expenses that he believes should be covered by the federation.
“Nowadays I pay for my tickets to go and support our teams. I pay for my tickets. I pay for my accommodation to support our teams because the federation does not want to pay for me the accommodation and air tickets,” Mariga said on Wednesday.
He cited recent trips to Tanzania and matches involving Kenya’s youth teams as examples of his commitment, despite what he described as his increasingly marginalised position within the federation.
“Because of passion and love for the game, I pay for myself and I go to support our teams. I was there [in Dar es Salaam] for the U23. I went to support the U17 when they played against Uganda, and I was told, ‘if you want to stay in this hotel you have to pay for yourself’,” he said.
Mariga maintained that he would continue attending matches regardless of the treatment he says he has received.
“I will continue paying for myself [and] supporting the teams even if I am sidelined because my passion is football,” he added.
He also clarified that he does not receive a salary from FKF, saying members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) are not paid.
“I don’t get a salary from the federation; the NEC members are not paid. We don’t get anything from the federation. I pay my money because of the passion we have,” said Mariga, a former UEFA Champions League winner with Inter Milan.
Leadership feud deepens
Mariga’s remarks come amid a prolonged power struggle within FKF that escalated in April, when he and a section of NEC members attempted to suspend Mohammed.
The faction levelled several accusations against the president and acting chief executive Dennis Gicheru. FIFA subsequently described the move as unprocedural and urged the rival camps to engage in dialogue.
Efforts to resolve the dispute have so far failed to produce a lasting agreement, with both sides continuing to accuse each other of frustrating attempts to restore unity within the federation.
Mohammed addressed the media on Wednesday, criticising the breakaway NEC faction and accusing its members of obstructing his efforts to resolve the impasse.
He said he had initiated meetings to find common ground but claimed the rival camp had either failed to attend or introduced new demands.
A planned meeting on Wednesday also failed to take place after the required quorum was not reached, prompting the FKF president to signal that he intended to move forward without the dissenting members.
“We cannot punish millions of Kenyans because of seven people. They cannot be allowed to determine the future of an entire football community,” Mohammed said.
Despite the divisions, Mohammed maintained that the federation’s operations would continue, insisting that any disputes must be resolved through the established constitutional structures.
“Football must and shall go on,” he said.
He pointed to the FKF Congress as the federation’s supreme governing body, arguing that it would ultimately determine the direction of Kenyan football.
“We will adhere to our constitution, we will adhere to our rules and regulations, we will adhere to all the processes required,” Mohammed said.
“And we have a supreme body that governs us, which is congress, and congress ultimately will determine the future of Kenyan football and the direction that it shall take.”
The latest exchange followed claims by Mariga’s faction that its members attended a NEC meeting on Tuesday, where they presented 13 issues they wanted resolved.
According to the group, only four issues had been addressed by the end of the day, with an agreement allegedly reached to discuss the remaining nine on Wednesday.
The faction claimed Mohammed subsequently called for a formal NEC meeting before the outstanding matters could be resolved, prompting its members to withdraw from the process.
With the rival camps still divided over how to resolve their differences, the latest statements underline the uncertainty surrounding FKF’s leadership and the prospects of restoring working relations within the federation.