Published on October 28, 2024 by Kariuki Mwangi
Last Updated on 2 years by Kariuki Mwangi
Football Kenya Federation, in partnership with FIFA, has today, Monday, October 28, 2024, rolled out a two-day FIFA Club Professionalization and Management Workshop for FKF Premier League clubs.
The workshop, which aims at empowering local football clubs with skills in strategic planning, governance, and financial management will benefit local clubs in transforming their running as FKF races to empower clubs and transform the local football scene.
FKF President Nick Mwendwa spoke that the federation’s discussion with FIFA had materialized with Keya becoming the second African nation to host the professionalization workshop noting that developing clubs is the most important route to grow football in the country.
“Clubs are the bread and butter of football. Clubs need support to professionalize, to commercialize. To be come bigger and better. Our clubs need training to understand how become better and bigger because children look up to moving to clubs like Manchester United or Real Madrid because the systems there have been set up. We need to do the same with our clubs here,” Mwendwa said.
“Our clubs need to learn how other big clubs are run and from there they will grow. We have in discussion with FIFA on this for some time now and I am happy that we are the second country in Africa to get this training. The people conducting the workshop are top professionals and our clubs will harvest a wealth of knowledge from them,” Mwendwa added.
The FKF boss announced that the federation will continue to do similar initiatives annually to ensure that improvement of clubs is work in progress.
FIFA head of Development Programmes in Africa Solomon Mudege said that with club licensing already rolled out in Kenya, FIFA is happy to offer support to federations and this is just part of the programs planned to be rolled out.
“After the two days, I hope that people leave here with a change of mindset and more knowledgeable on how things are done in a professional way at the club level,” Mudege said.
On his part, Tusker FC Chef Executive Officer Sam Nzau lauded the organization of the workshop noting that it was a step that will go a long way in assisting clubs.
“I hope that with such trainings. We will be able to have better managed clubs, make them better professional and in return, we shall have a better and more professional league,” Nzai said.
FKF has partnered with FIFA to conduct a two-day high-level FIFA Club professionalization and management workshop for FKF premier league clubs where Club Chairman and CEO’s of all Premier league clubs are in attendance.
Under the FIFA Club professionalization and management programme, the workshop will see local clubs taken through various topics among them Strategic Planning, Governance and Finance by experts from FIFA and renowned sports management international firms.
The three topics are key to professionalizing clubs in Kenya to make them self-sustaining and profitable entities like their peers in other parts of the world.
Angola was the first African country to host a similar workshop in July as part of the new FIFA Club professionalisation and Management program Africa edition.
The program is supported logistically by FIFA to give club executives the opportunity to acquire new skills and practical know-how as well as exchange best practices with industry professionals on the ground.
Demand for the FIFA club professionalisation and Management programme – which is a new initiative – came from the member associations (MAs) on the back of several FIFA visits and meetings in line with the federations’ visions to develop domestic leagues and clubs.
These workshops aim to increase the strength of African clubs which will help give every talent a chance and to help make football truly global.
FIFA’s ultimate ambition is to create a more competitive global football ecosystem, where a larger number of football clubs from every region of the world – not just a few clubs from a specific area – compete at the highest level off the pitch.
The sessions focus on the latest trends in relation to club operations, stadium management, finance, marketing and communications, sporting strategy, youth academies, governance and legal matters, and leadership and negotiation skills.
