Gor Mahia coach Steven Polack has called on the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) to issue a final decision on the 2019-20 season.
While the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) moved to end the season and crown Gor Mahia the champions while promoting Nairobi City Stars and Bidco United, the KPL have insisted a decision on the league is yet to be made, and clubs should wait to hear from them.
On two occasions, KPL plans to issue a stand on the league have been jolted by the extension of the nationwide curfew, with the latest being on Saturday when Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta confirmed the ban on all sporting activities and social gatherings will remain in force for another 30 days.
The move by Kenyatta came just a day after the KPL had issued a statement signed by CEO Jack Oguda stating the Governing Council will meet in the course of this week to make a decision on the league, because they had high hopes the previous curfew will be abolished with sporting activities allowed to resume.
Polack has now challenged the KPL to man up and issue a strong statement on the state of the league so clubs can start preparations for the new season in August.
“Thirty more days [extension of curfew] …it means we are now where we were three months ago, and let’s be honest, at the end of the current ban which ends on July 7, we will not be able to play the league,” Polack told Goal on Monday.
“Even if the President says we can now start sporting activities at the end of the 30 days, it will not be possible to play the league, we will need at least four to five weeks of training, which will take us to the middle of August, and then if we resume the league it will finish at the beginning of October.
"Then you will need to rest and have pre-season, meaning the new season can only start in November or December, which is not possible.
“For me, the KPL needs to make a decision now, do they nullify it, do they cancel it or do they award Gor Mahia trophy, so that everybody can get prepared for the new season which starts at the end of August.
“I believe they [KPL] need to make a decision and make it very quickly and we know we spoke about this before, a lot of clubs don’t have money to resume the league or maybe they are keeping the money they have for the new season.
"Do we have everything in place if the league starts do we have the necessary tools to resume the league?
“They [KPL] have to make a decision, cancel, nullify and tell teams to start getting ready for next season because new season starts at the end of August, it will give teams enough time to get ready, get their finances and also work on renewing players’ contracts and also getting new players.”
Asked whether he will feel aggrieved if the league is annulled and Gor Mahia denied the title, Polack explained: “At the end of the day, what they [KPL] say is what they say, if they cancel the league clubs will definitely complain if they nullify the league clubs will also complain, so what they need to do is make a tough statement once and for all.
“Whatever happens they will have to get complains, they have to be strong, and say this is what we have decided and all clubs should follow that and we get ready for the new season.”
By the time of suspending the league owing to the coronavirus pandemic, Gor Mahia were leading the 17-team league table on 54 points, seven more than second-placed Kakamega Homeboyz, who had a game in hand.