18 Football Kenya Federation Premier League teams will take part in the 2023/24 season after passing the club licensing regulation.

The new campaign is set to begin on Saturday, August 26, and as a requirement to be granted a license, they had to undergo rigorous scrutiny to ascertain whether they met the stipulated requirements.

The clubs were required to apply for the licenses before the August 12, 2023, deadline.

FIB greenlight

“The Football Kenya Federation’s First Instance Body (FIB), an independent decision-making body set up by all CAF’s member associations, has granted licenses to 18 FKF Premier League clubs to participate in the 2023/24 FKF Premier League.

“However, one club has been granted a license and a sanction for failure to meet the criteria of presenting a women’s team as stipulated in the issued National Club Licensing Regulations,” FKF announced.

According to the federation, club licensing is a primary element that sets minimum standards that clubs must satisfy to be licensed and participate in the competition.

The aim of the process is to help improve the quality of the competition in the country and ensure that the teams have the appropriate infrastructure, knowledge, and application with respect to management and organization.

It also aims at improving the economic and financial capacity of the clubs through proper corporate governance and control, ensuring and guaranteeing the sustainability of local and international club competitions.

Requirements

The local FA explained how the teams were evaluated before their requests for licenses were approved.

“The license applicant must have a youth team with at least two age categories. Each of the two youth teams must take part in official competitions or programs played at the national, regional, or local level and be recognized by the FKF.

“The license applicant must provide all players registered with the club full access to medical support services, including but not limited to a yearly medical examination for all its players eligible to play for its first squad and comprehensive medical insurance coverage for contracted players. This is a mandatory requirement,” FKF added.

Apart from having a women’s team, the clubs were also required to have a stadium available to host games.

“The license applicant must have at least one women’s first team participating in a competition sanctioned by FKF. The applicant may operate the women’s team itself or have a written agreement with another entity that operates the team. This is an obligatory requirement.

“The license applicant must have a stadium available to host its home matches. The applicant may legally own the stadium, or they may conclude a written lease agreement with the owner of the stadium. This is a mandatory requirement,” it added.

Recently, Gor Mahia found themselves ineligible for the CAF Champions League after failing to meet the licensing requirements.