FKF make key FKFPL changes as opening round gets underway

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has announced the abolishment of the FKF Premier League promotion/relegation playoff as one of the key resolutions that will guide the 2025/26 league season.

The resolutions which were passed after a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) include changes to league compositions, promotion and relegation formats, as well as the rules governing player registration.

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The first determination was the season calendar, which has been ratified to run from September to June 2026, totalling the traditional nine months

The change from the usual August to May was occasioned by the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), which Kenya co-hosted in August.

While there were rumors and proposals to reduce the number of teams in the FKF Premier League, NEC resolved to have the league maintain its 18-team format.

However, the promotion/relegation playoff, which brought together the third-last team in the top tier and the third-ranked team in the National Super League (NSL), had been scrapped.

Instead, the bottom three teams in the FKFPL will be automatically relegated to the NSL, as the top three teams in the NSL earn automatic promotion to the top tier.

Still in the NSL, the bottom four teams will now be relegated to the FKF Division One and will be replaced by four teams that will be promoted from Division One.

The FKF Division One, which comprised two zones, will now have four zones of 16 teams each, with the winners gaining automatic promotion to the NSL, while the bottom three teams from each zone will drop to the FKF Division Two.

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In the women's category, the FKF Women's Premier League (WPL) will continue having 12 teams, as the FKF Women's National Super League (WNSL) also proceeds with 24 teams, divided equally into two zones.

The bottom three WPL teams will be automatically relegated to the WNSL. As for promotion, the two zonal winners will gain automatic promotion, while the third slot will be decided through a one-off playoff between the two second-placed teams.

The two bottom-placed teams in each WNSL zone will be relegated to the FKF Women's Division One, which will now be composed of four zones of 10 teams each.

The top teams in each of the four Women's Division One zones will gain automatic promotion to the WNSL, while the bottom three teams in each zone will drop to the lower tier.

NEC also made significant changes to the player registration rules. Clubs competing in the FKF Premier League, FKF WPL, NSL, and WNSL will now be allowed to register up to seven foreign nationals per season.

Initially, clubs were only allowed to register five foreigners. The additional number of foreigners is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the Kenyan leagues.

Additionally, there will be no restrictions on the number of foreigners allowed on the pitch at any particular time. Initially, only three foreigners could play at any particular time during the match.

“The changes made to the season mark a significant step in streamlining the Kenyan football pyramid and ensuring clear pathways for promotion and relegation across both men’s and women's leagues,” stated FKF in their communication.

In the 2024/25 season, Kenya Police FC made history by winning the FKF Premier League for the first time in club history.

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Their women's team, Kenya Police Bullets, also made history by successfully defending their WPL title, making it two league titles in their two years in the Women's top tier.

In the NSL, Nairobi United and APS Bomet finished in first and second, respectively, to earn their maiden promotion to the FKFPL as third-placed Naivas lost to Posta Rangers in the promotion/relegation playoff.

In the WNSL, Kayole Starless and Soccer Assassins gained automatic promotion to the WPL as Gideon Starlets qualified via a promotion playoff.