FKF unveils sweeping changes to league structures ahead of 2025/26 season
The new season will run from September 2025 to June 2026, maintaining the traditional nine-month calendar that aligns domestic football with international standards.
The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) National Executive Committee (NEC) has announced a series of sweeping resolutions that will shape the upcoming 2025/26 football season, introducing changes to league compositions, promotion and relegation structures, and player registration rules.
The new season will run from September 2025 to June 2026, maintaining the traditional nine-month calendar that aligns domestic football with international standards.
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At the top tier, the SportPesa League retains its 18-team format, while the National Super League (NSL) will continue with 20 teams.
The women’s competitions remain unchanged, with the FKF Women’s Premier League sticking to 12 teams and the Women’s National Super League maintaining 24 teams.
Further down the pyramid, the FKF Division One League will consist of four zones of 16 teams each, while the Women’s Division One League has been structured into four zones of 10 teams each. These adjustments are designed to create balance and offer more competitive opportunities across the country.
One of the most notable reforms is the abolition of the promotion-relegation play-off between the SportPesa League and the NSL.
Starting this season, the bottom three SportPesa League clubs will be relegated directly to the NSL, while the top three NSL sides will earn automatic promotion.
The bottom four NSL teams will, in turn, drop to Division One, with zonal winners of Division One moving up.
Similarly, in women’s football, the bottom three Premier League clubs will be relegated to the Women’s NSL, with zonal winners earning promotion. A one-off play-off between the second-placed sides will determine the final promotion slot to the Women’s Premier League.
Relegation and promotion across Division One and Women’s Division One will also follow a direct system, with zonal winners moving up and the lowest-ranked teams dropping down, ensuring clarity and competitiveness in the football pyramid.
In a bid to strengthen the quality of domestic leagues, FKF has also expanded the foreign player quota, allowing clubs in the SportPesa League, Women’s Premier League, NSL, and Women’s NSL to register up to seven foreign nationals per season.
Crucially, there will be no restriction on how many of these players can feature on the pitch at any given time, a move aimed at raising the overall standard of play.
The NEC said the resolutions mark an important milestone in streamlining Kenya’s football ecosystem by providing clear and merit-based pathways for clubs across both men’s and women’s competitions.
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