Kenyan football league system

The Kenyan football league system is a series of several interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Kenya.

Structure

As of 2015, the top level league in Kenya is the Premier League, with the FKF Premier League below it. The National Super League and Division One are the third and fourth tiers of the system respectively, both divided into two zones for the Eastern and Western halves of Kenya. Division One is further divided into two groups consisting of teams from various regions in Eastern and Western Kenya.

Below the national leagues are the Regional Leagues, divided into regional divisions based on the former Provinces of Kenya (except for North Eastern), some of which are further divided into a number of zones. The County Champions League and the Sub-County Leagues make up the bottom two tiers of the Kenyan football league system.

In women's football, the Women's Premier League is the top tier league, with the Women's Division One below it.

History

In November 2012, the Football Kenya Federation began talks to create Division Two, which, if approved, will go above the Provincial League as the third tier. The proposal says that the league will be made of 16 teams; the four relegated teams from both zones of Division One and one team from each of the eight provincial leagues. The 16 teams will be divided into two zones of eight teams each on the same basis as Division One in terms of locations of teams in the zones. The winners from each zone would be promoted to their respective zones in Division One, e.g. the winner from Zone A in Division Two would be promoted to Zone A in Division One.^[1]

On 25 April 2013, the Football Kenya Federation decided to slash the league to 20 teams for the 2014 season. For that to happen, it was decided that the league will consist of top 5 teams in each zone (except the two teams that win the promotion play-offs) in addition to the two relegated Premier League teams. The remaining 29 teams will be relegated to FKF Division Two, which will begin next season, along with the 8 teams promoted from the Provincial League.^[2]

On 10 July 2013, it was announced that the Football Kenya Federation introduced a new league system to take effect from the beginning of the 2014 season.^[3] For the 2015 season, the Kenyan Premier League was to be contested by 18 teams, up from 16 for the 2014 season.^[4]

At the beginning of the 2015 season, talks between the Kenyan Premier League and the Football Kenya Federation concerning the expansion of the top flight collapsed, ultimately resulting in the formation of a new parallel top division called the FKF Premier League (FKF PL) consisting of 18 teams, with the KPL maintaining its composition of 16 teams.^[5] However, on 23 March 2015, the two parties reached an agreement that gave the KPL official recognition as Kenya's top division and the FKF PL as Kenya's second division for 2015, with a memorandum of understanding outlining the promotion and relegation system between the two leagues for 2015 and the relationship between the KPL and the federation regarding the running of the top division from 2016 onwards.

Current system

As of the 2015 season.

Level	League/Division(s)
1 Premier League	Kenyan Premier League 16 clubs
2 FKF PL	FKF Premier League 18 clubs
3 Super League	Zone A 19 clubs																																Zone B 18 clubs
4 Division One	Zone A																																Zone B
	Group 1 19 clubs																Group 2 20 clubs																Group 1 14 clubs																Group 2 16 clubs
5 Regional Leagues	Nyanza League 20 clubs								Western League 20 clubs								Rift Valley League 20 clubs								Central League 20 clubs								Nairobi League 20 clubs								Eastern League 20 clubs								North Eastern League 20 clubs								Coast League 20 clubs
6 County Champions League	Baringo League								Bomet League								Bungoma League								Busia League								Embu League								Garissa League								Isiolo League								Kiambu League
	Elgeyo-Marakwet League								Homa Bay League								Kajiado League								Kakamega League								Kilifi League								Kirinyaga League								Kitui League								Kwale League
	Kericho League								Kisii League								Kisumu League								Laikipia League								Lamu League								Machakos League								Makueni League								Mandera League
	Migori League								Nakuru League								Nandi League								Narok League								Marsabit League								Meru League								Mombasa League								Murang'a League
	Nyamira League								Samburu League								Siaya League								Trans-Nzoia League								Nairobi A. League								Nairobi B. League								Nyandarua League								Nyeri League
	Turkana League								Uasin Gishu League								Vihiga League								West Pokot League								Taita-Taveta League								Tana River League								Tharaka-Nithi League								Wajir League
7 Sub-County Leagues	Sub-County Leagues

References

1. "FKF to consider creation of Division 2". Futaa.com. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
2. Patrick Korir (25 April 2013). "Signed and sealed; Div 1 to have 20 teams in 2014". Futaa.com. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
3. Amos Abuga (10 July 2013). "New FKF soccer Structure to be implemented next year". MichezoAfrika.com. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
4. Kevin Teya (25 November 2014). "FKF: Decision on 18 - Team KPL is final and irreversible". Futaa.com. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
5. Kevin Teya (18 February 2015). "KPL, FKF talks collapse". Futaa.com. Retrieved 21 February 2015.