The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) on Friday confirmed the relegation of Muhoroni Youth, a second-tier football club, after the sport’s world governing body, FIFA, found the team guilty of match manipulation.
This marks the latest episode in a series of match-fixing scandals that have dogged football in the East African nation.
In its ruling published on Friday, FIFA declared Muhoroni Youth “guilty of activities related to the manipulation of football matches and competitions.” As a result, the club has been expelled from the FKF National Super League and demoted to the third-tier FKF Division One League ahead of the upcoming season.
The FKF expressed its full support for FIFA’s decision and reiterated its “zero-tolerance stance on match-fixing and all forms of manipulation that compromise the integrity of the game.”
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This development follows the suspension of former national team goalkeeper Patrick Matasi in March, over allegations that he was involved in fixing a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Cameroon in Yaoundé. Kenya suffered a 4–1 defeat in that match, significantly damaging their chances of qualifying for the finals in Morocco this December.
In a separate case in February 2020, FIFA banned four Kenya-based players—one for life—over their roles in what it described as an “international conspiracy” to manipulate league fixtures. Five Kenyan referees were also suspended in connection with the same incident.
The Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis, an independent think tank, has warned that match-fixing in the country has spread from grassroots competitions to the professional leagues.
