Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Chief Executive Officer Harold Ndege has proposed an amendment to extend the term limit for elected officials from the current four years to five years.

Speaking during an FKF meeting, Ndege stated that the move is intended to align the term of sports officials with the Kenyan Constitution and broader government policy. He pointed out that while the current term for officials within the sports sector is limited to four years, a five-year term would offer consistency with the national governance structure.

To facilitate this change, the FKF CEO is now calling for the repeal of the current FKF Act. He believes this amendment will provide the legal framework needed to effect the proposed extension and ensure that the leadership structure within FKF is in harmony with the national government structure.

“We will propose as FKF that the term limit set within the sports act be in tandem with the national constitution; currently the term limit for sports administrators is 4 years; in our national constitution in Kenya, the term limit is five years; our proposal will be that those two term limits should be in tandem; we convert the 4 into 5 so that it’s in line with the national government policy,” Ndege proposed.

The Sports Act

The Kenyan Sports Act, 2013 (No. 25 of 2013), outlines clear provisions for the election of officials in sports organisations, specifying who can participate, who is eligible to vote, and how often elections should occur.

Only Kenyan citizens are eligible to be elected as key officials, such as chairperson, secretary, or treasurer, at the national level, ensuring local leadership in sports governance.

The act mandates that officials and athletes’ representatives at the national, branch, and sub-branch levels of registered sports organisations such as the Football Kenya Federation or Athletics Kenya must be chosen through direct elections by registered club members, who are typically affiliated with these organisations.

 In some cases, such as the Kenya National Sports Council elections in 2022, voting is conducted by delegates from member organisations, with oversight from the Sports Registrar and, at times, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to ensure compliance and fairness.

Elections must take place at regular intervals every two to four years, with officials serving terms of up to four years and being eligible for re-election for only one additional term.

 This promotes accountability and prevents prolonged leadership tenures.