Football Kenya Federation (FKF) have released the 2026/27 SportPesa League fixtures, setting the stage for a new campaign on August 29-30 despite an unresolved legal battle over the regulations governing promotion and relegation.
The 34-round season will open with nine matches, with defending champions Gor Mahia beginning their title defence at home against Murang’a Seal and AFC Leopards hosting Bandari in one of the weekend’s biggest fixtures.
Ulinzi Stars will entertain domestic cup champions Tusker at Lang’ata Sports Complex, Nairobi United host KCB, while newly promoted Mombasa United face Kakamega Homeboyz in their first-ever Premier League fixture.
But the release of the fixtures comes against the backdrop of a legal dispute that has already produced conflicting developments before the Sports Disputes Tribunal and the High Court in Murang’a.
The Sports Disputes Tribunal on Monday dismissed Kariobangi Sharks’ challenge against their relegation, handing FKF a significant victory in the dispute over its revised 2025 promotion and relegation regulations.
In the case (SDTSC/E044/2026), the tribunal upheld the regulations providing for three automatic relegations from the Premier League and three automatic promotions from the National Super League.
On the validity of the regulations, the tribunal ruled that the contested “FKF Rules and Regulations Governing Football (Revised 2025)” were “validly ratified by the FKF National Executive Committee (NEC) and did not require approval from the General Assembly.”
That finding strikes at the heart of Sharks’ argument that the regulations were improperly adopted because they had not received approval from the federation’s General Assembly.
The tribunal also rejected the argument that stakeholders had not been adequately consulted before the new promotion and relegation framework was introduced.
On public participation, the SDT found that the new three-up, three-down system “underwent sufficient public participation before being adopted.”
The decision means the regulations remain valid before the tribunal and gives FKF a strong basis for proceeding with its planned league structure.
The tribunal also dismissed Sharks’ case on procedural grounds, finding that the club had not exhausted the internal mechanisms available within the federation.
In its determination, the panel said Sharks “did not exhaust all the internal mechanisms at its disposal, as a member of the FKF Premier League,” before escalating the dispute to the tribunal.
The ruling effectively confirms Kariobangi Sharks’ relegation and clears the way for Mombasa United, who finished third in the NSL, to take their place in the Premier League under the three-team promotion system.
But the SDT judgment has not ended the wider legal battle.
A separate petition filed by Evans Nduta remains before the High Court in Murang’a, challenging the legality and implementation of the same regulations.
FKF has challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court, arguing that football disputes should be handled through the mechanisms provided under sports law and the football governance framework.
The federation has since moved to the Court of Appeal after Justice Dorah Chepkwony rejected its preliminary objection on jurisdiction.
The High Court proceedings have nevertheless continued, with the court having issued orders restricting FKF from implementing the disputed regulations while the petition remains before it.
The court restrained the federation from “implementing, giving effect to, or relying upon” the contested rules in determining promotion and relegation or constituting the 2026/27 competitions.
Those orders have now triggered a separate contempt application against senior FKF officials.
Nduta alleges that FKF breached the orders by proceeding with preparations for the new season, including club licensing, player registration and fixture arrangements.
FKF president Hussein Mohammed and chief executive Dennis Gicheru are among the officials expected to appear before the High Court on August 14 to respond to the allegations.
The federation’s position remains that the High Court has “no jurisdiction” over the dispute and that the relevant football and sports mechanisms should be exhausted before the ordinary courts intervene.
FKF is also expected to argue that administrative preparations for the new season should not be treated as deliberate disobedience of the court.
The federation maintains that “routine administrative work” cannot simply stop while a legal dispute is being litigated, particularly with the new campaign already scheduled to begin.
The return fixture will be played between April 2 and 4, 2027. The league is scheduled to conclude on May 16, 2027.
But before the opening whistle is sounded, FKF must negotiate another potentially decisive legal hurdle.
The August 14 contempt hearing will not determine the entire promotion and relegation dispute, but it could establish whether FKF officials breached orders issued by the Murang’a court.
The substantive question of whether the 2025 regulations can ultimately govern the Premier League composition remains before the courts.
For now, FKF has the backing of the SDT, whose judgment states that the regulations were “validly ratified by the FKF National Executive Committee (NEC) and did not require approval from the General Assembly” and that the new system “underwent sufficient public participation before being adopted.”
Sharks, however, remain on the outside looking in after the tribunal ruled that they “did not exhaust all the internal mechanisms at its disposal, as a member of the FKF Premier League,” before filing their case.
