Nakumatt, Zoo Kericho in limbo

Players and technical bench members of Nakumatt and Zoo Kericho are now left with nothing to do but await the Court of Appeal’s decision regarding their continued participation in the SportPesa Premier League.

The two teams were last week eliminated from the league’s remaining fixtures following a decision from the High Court rendering their promotion to the top flight league null and void.

And in compliance with this directive, the league organisers on Monday circulated a fresh order of table standings excluding the two teams, and explaining that all points gained or lost against the two teams no longer count in the new leaderboard.

Nakumatt Secretary General Albert Wesonga told Nation Sport on Mondaythat the High Court’s decision is bound to have far reaching effects on the playing unit who depend on the club for their livelihood.

“What do we do with all these players? We have a contract with each of them so we cannot stop training. This situation is very unfair to the 34 team members because these are people who depend on football to feed themselves and their families.

“We have met with our sponsors who are of the opinion that we wait for guidance from the federation and the Court of Appeal,” he said.

Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa on Monday confirmed that his office has taken the matter up at the Court of Appeal challenging the devastating High Court ruling by Justice Mativo that directed that the top-flight league comprise of 16 teams.

“I can’t speak much about the matter because it is now in court, but it is a decision we have to seek redress because it leaves us in quandary. We have only nine games before the end of the season.

What do we do with the players from the two teams?

“The ruling also suspended the enforcement of club licensing. But how can we avoid club licensing when it is a mandatory requirement for teams taking part in Caf competitions?” he posed.

In the revised fixtures, league leaders Gor Mahia lost nine points for their two wins over Nakumatt and three more points achieved from beating Zoo Kericho in the league’s first leg.

Their closest challengers in the new pecking order are Kakamega Homeboyz, who lost just two points from the two draws with Nakumatt and Zoo.

Contrary to the last table which had K’Ogalo leading by 12 points, the 15-time champions are only five ahead of Homeboyz ahead of their midweek league match against Sofapaka.