The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) will conclude the 2025 FKF Youth Leagues with regional championship finals scheduled to take place across Nairobi, Mombasa, Turkana, Rift Valley and Western Kenya from Friday, January 2, 2026.

The finals will bring together top-performing teams from the 15 FKF Youth League centres that featured in the 2025 season, marking the final phase of the current competition format before a revised youth development model is introduced.

Regional supremacy

Each region will stage its own championship matches, with teams competing for regional honours after months of league action.
The FKF Youth Leagues, supported through the FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS), featured boys’ and girls’ competitions in the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 categories.

The leagues were conducted in two phases across the year, culminating in the qualification of top-performing teams for the regional finals.
The championship fixtures will be played at designated venues within each region, with matches concluding with awards ceremonies to crown the respective regional champions.

These finals mark the end of the current competition model, which has focused on centre-based leagues and regional championships.
Looking ahead, FKF intends to transition to a revised youth development model aimed at strengthening talent identification and player progression.

Under the new approach, FKF-appointed scouts will identify standout players during youth league matches, selecting them into regional All-Star youth teams. The selected players will then undergo structured training programmes at designated FKF Youth Centres, providing a more focused development pathway for elite youth talent.

Following this phase, the regional All-Star teams will compete against each other in a national FKF Youth Championship finale, where an overall champion will be crowned. The revised model is designed to enhance player identification, improve technical development, and create a clearer pathway from grassroots football to elite youth competition, while maintaining broad participation across the country.

More to be done

This follows FKF’s Deputy President, McDonald Mariga’s affirmation that the 8-0 Harambee Stars’ thrashing at the hands of Senegal on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at the Mardan Stadium, is a harsh lesson on what top-level football demands.

”Today’s loss to Senegal is painful, no excuses. A harsh lesson on what top-level football demands. We take responsibility, fix our mistakes, and come back stronger.” Mariga took to X on Tuesday night, November 18, 2025.

Following one of the country’s worst defeats in recent years, Mariga acknowledged that there is still more to be done to achieve top-level team performance.