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FKF president Hussein Mohammed has refused to back down on his hardline stance over the need for sanity within the Kenyan football leadership.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Hussein Mohammed has hit back at elements within his administration who are reading from different scripts.

The FKF boss has been at loggerheads with a section of his Nations Executive Committee members, led by vice president McDonald Mariga, with both sides trading blame over a number of issues affecting Kenyan football.

This has divided the federation’s leadership in the middle but Mohammed maintains that he is in charge and will not let others rock the boat and derail his quest to develop the game.

FKF boss Hussein Mohammed and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

While attending the inaugural 2026 FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival being staged at the Hovsan Competition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan, Mohammed reiterated the need for steady progress in Kenya, but warned that it will not be possible if others are pulling in a different direction.

"There are no short cuts. We must immediately build our high-performance technical centers and pitches for schools and our local communities across the country,” said Mohammed, who had a meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino on the sidelines of the tournament.

“All leagues and competitions at every level, for both boys and girls, must be strengthened. We must successfully commercialise football if it is to become a viable economic pillar for our youth and the sports ecosystem.

"We are on the right path, albeit one fraught with thorny pathways and dark alleys. To allow mediocrity, hate, bloated egos and greed back into football administration is an injustice to all Kenyans, both current and future generations. Hiyo nayo hatuwezi kubali kamwe [We won’t let that happen]!"

The state-of-the-art Hovsan Complex, which is hosting the U15 tournament, features 10 football pitches configured to host 20 simultaneous 8v8 matches, providing a world-class environment for youth development.

The Kenya U15 boys team is among 189 Member Associations competing in this first-ever edition for boys, which will feature almost 1,000 matches. The girls' edition is scheduled for 2027, with both tournaments set to become annual events from 2028.

“The tournament presents a massive opportunity for our young talents to gain invaluable international exposure and test themselves against different football cultures on the world stage,” Mohammed further stated.

Meanwhile, the Kenya U15 boys team have finished top of their group after beating Chad 3-2 on Monday. Kenya had started their campaign with a thumping 5-1 win over Panama before a 2-2 draw with Niger.

The Brewers will lose out on the huge financial windfall following their failure to make it to the CAF Confederation Cup group stages.

Tusker FC’s elimination from the CAF Confederation Cup has seen them not just miss out on an opportunity to play continental football at higher top level but also a huge financial incentive.

The Brewers were knocked out at the second preliminary round following a 2-1 loss on aggregate to Tanzanian side Singida Black Stars.

Tusker played out a 1-1 draw in the second leg in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, having lost 1-0 in Nairobi a week earlier.

From their appearance at the preliminary round, Julien Mette’s side will pocket $100,000 (Ksh13 million), a solidarity payment issued to all clubs at this stage, to assist with travel and logistics.

However, the Kenyan side missed out on a much bigger share of the pie as qualifying for the group stages of the Confederation Cup comes with a reward of $400,000 (Ksh52 million).

Their efforts to emulate Nairobi United, who received this sum in their debut season last term, fell short and they now join Gor Mahia, who also suffered elimination at this round in the CAF Champions League.

It continues a poor record by Kenyan teams in continental competitions as apart from Nairobi United last season, it had been early elimination since Gor Mahia reached the Confederation Cup quarter-final in 2019.

Landing such huge sums would have come in handy for the Kenyan sides when it comes to recruitment, allowing them the financial freedom to attract top players who would help them compete favourably in subsequent competitions.