- The winner of the tournament will play in the CAF Confederation Cup
- There are 32 teams which have registered
- The final should be played before June 30
The draw for the 2023 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Cup has been conducted with 32 teams expected to play part in this year’s showpiece.
FKF Premier League champions Tusker FC will head to Garissa to take on local side Berlin FC while AFC Leopards will take on University side Zetech, and record champions Gor Mahia play Kibera Soccer in the first round.
Of the 32 teams that will play this year’s competition, 11 are from the Premier League, eight from the National super League, six from the Division One while seven more have registered from the regional and county leagues.
Normally, the tournament usually has 64 teams, but the Federation decided to scale down this year.
“We are in a very unique season and we have done that because of several reasons. One is that we started the season almost four months late and we have a deadline of finishing by June 30, so we don’t have the luxury of time on our side,” said FKF CEO Barry Otieno.
He added; “Financially, the Federation is also not in a very good place and so we decided to limit the use of funds. We are still trying to negotiate for a sponsor and hopefully we can get one in the next coming days.”
The Federation has also not revealed the prize money for the winners, saying this will be dependent on whether or not they find a title sponsor.
Meanwhile, the first round matches will be played on February 11.
Eleven teams from the Premier League
Former Tusker FC midfielder Edward Karanja conducting the draw
Teams from the Premier League and top five from the Super League were seeded in one pot while the rest of the teams were seeded in the second. The lower tier teams will host the first round matches, to be played in knockout format.
In other interesting fixtures, the Siaya based Michael Olunga Foundation Academy will take on KCB FC while Kenya Police will face off with Nairobi-based Scarlet FC.
Mwatate United which play in the third tier will meanwhile play Mombasa-side Coastal Heroes, in a ‘Pwani Derby’, one that will definitely take the headlines from the opening match weekend.
The tournament, whose winner plays in the CAF Confederation Cup, was not held last season by the Caretaker Committee that was tasked with running football in the absence of the Federation.
Full Fixtures:
Former Tusker FC midfielder Edward Karanja and former Ulinzi skipper Stephen Ocholla conducting the draw
Rainbow FC vs Migori Youth FC
Berlin FC (Garissa) vs Tusker FC
MOFA vs KCB FC
Lions FC (Kericho) vs Bidco United FC
Karatina Homeboyz FC vs Sofapaka FC
Nyota FC (Kakamega) vs Darajani Gogo FC (Kibra)
Scarlet FC (Nairobi) vs Kenya Police FC
Kajiado FC vs Ulinzi Stars FC
Shalima FC (Nakuru) vs Kakamega Homeboyz
Kibera Soccer FC vs Gor Mahia FC
Marula FC (Nakuru) vs Kariobangi Sharks FC
Equity Bank FC vs Mara Sugar FC
Luanda Villa FC vs Murang’a Seal FC
Zetech Titans vs AFC Leopards
Administration Police (Yatta) vs Bandari
Mwatate FC vs Coastal Heroes
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