Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League side Posta Rangers FC have avoided being relegated to the National Super League despite slumping to a 1-0 defeat to Naivas FC in the second leg encounter of the promotion playoff staged this Wednesday, June 2, 2025, at the San Sebastian Park in Murang’a County.

The victory for Naivas proved not enough to overturn a 2-0 defeat suffered in the first leg of the encounter, as Sammy Omollo’s charges retained their berth in the KPL for next season on a 2-1 aggregate win.

Line Up complete

The outcome concluded the new lineup for teams that will participate in the Football Kenya Premier League for the 2025/26 season.

 The league will now feature two new faces in APS Bomet and Nairobi United, who earned their places in the top flight following promotion from the National Super League as runners-up and champions, respectively.

The pair joins the remaining 16 teams that took part in the 2024/25 season, which completed a fortnight ago with Kenya Police crowned as the new champions.

Elvis Ayany’s Naivas team entered the task in Sebastian Park aware of the enormity of the task ahead of them, and fittingly responded with an early strike.

Kesa’s goal

Mark Vivian Kesa’s superbly taken strike saw the visitors draw the first blood to take a crucial advantage to the break.

A resolute display from the Mailmen, however, saw them fend off the NSL outfit from claiming a crucial goal that would have sent the game on level terms.

The defeat leaves the side licking their wounds after another unsuccessful bid to reach the top-flight league despite a strong run in Kenya’s second-tier league.

Prior to this, Naivas also contested the 2024 promotion/relegation playoff, losing on aggregate to Sofapaka FC for an extended spell in the NSL for another year.

The 2025 bid also kicked off to a poor start after ending the first leg with a crushing 2-0 defeat to Posta Rangers.

Mboya to the rescue

The Mailmen came alive in the second period, with striker Felix Oluoch Mboya netting twice in quick succession, in the 64th and 68th minutes, to give Rangers a clear advantage.

The result meant that Rangers only needed to avoid defeat by two or more goals in the second leg to maintain their top-flight status for the 2025/26 season, which they ultimately achieved to defend their league status.