FIFA Warn Kenya of Points Deduction over Stadium Safety

Zurich-based world football governing body FIFA has fined Kenya’s football federation 12,000 Swiss Francs ($13,170), and warned of possible future sanctions, after safety has slipped at the country’s national stadium.

There were reports last November of fans rushing for shelter in a covered grandstand after rain fell before a World Cup qualifying match.

FIFA said the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) was liable for improper conduct among spectators, and didn’t take necessary safety precautions.

FIFA warned future sanctions might include a deduction of points in Kenya’s 2014 World Cup qualifying group.

The FKF told BBC Sport: “We have engaged the services of a private security firm to beef up the security at the Nyayo Stadium, as was evidenced during our match versus Togo,” the FKF’s secretary-general Omondi Aduda insisted.

“When this incident took place, during the Kenya v Seychelles match, we realised that there were two points from which the fans tried to gain entry into the VIP area from the terraces.

“As a precautionary measure, the federation – together with the stadium management – did erect a 25m razor wire to prevent this happening again.

“We have also – with the help of the police – been able to place armed policemen on the respective areas where we have also installed the razor wire to ensure that no fan makes an attempt to climb over the barbed wire to get entrance from the terraces.

“The Kenyan police are also establishing a section of their officers to be trained as event managers.

by Ismail Uddin