By KINGSLEY AMBUNYA
June 14, 2026| The fate of relegation in the FKF Premier League remains tangled in legal uncertainty after the Sports Disputes Tribunal issued interim orders blocking Kariobangi Sharks from being automatically demoted at the end of the 2025/26 season.
At the start of the just-concluded campaign, all clubs operated under the understanding that previous regulations would apply. Under those rules, the team finishing 16th would face the third-placed side from the National Super League (NSL) in a promotion/relegation playoff, with the winner claiming a top-flight slot.
But as the season wound down, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) introduced new regulations. By a letter dated June 6, 2026, the federation signaled that the 16th-placed team—Kariobangi Sharks—would be automatically relegated, bypassing the playoff system.
Sharks swiftly moved to court. On June 11, they filed an urgent application at the Sports Disputes Tribunal. Two days later, Deputy Chairperson Allan Mola Owinyi issued a temporary injunction restraining the FKF from implementing what the club called “automatic relegation.”
“The Respondent… is restrained from implementing or giving effect to the decision… to the extent that it purports to automatically relegate the Petitioner without the conduct of the mandatory end-of-season promotion/relegation play-off,” reads the directive dated June 12.
The tribunal also barred the federation from finalizing or publishing the 2026/27 Premier League composition in a manner that excludes Sharks.
With the matter now before a three-member panel, the case is scheduled for mention on June 17 via Microsoft Teams. For now, Sharks remain in limbo—neither relegated nor safe. The playoff system, long a tense season finale for Kenyan football fans, hangs in the balance, awaiting the next judicial whistle.