As Kenyan football gears up for the 2025/26 campaign, set to run from September 2025 to June 2026, the Football Kenya Federation’s (FKF) National Executive Committee (NEC) has rolled out an extensive set of reforms. These updates, which span across men’s and women’s competitions, introduce new league formats, adjust promotion and relegation pathways, and redefine foreign player regulations, all aimed at creating a more competitive and organized football ecosystem.

League Configurations: Core Formats Retained, Lower Tiers Adjusted

The FKF has opted to maintain the current structures for the country’s top competitions:

• The SportPesa Premier League remains an 18-team contest.
• The National Super League (NSL)holds firm with 20 teams.

On the women’s side:

• The FKF Women’s Premier League continues with 12 teams.
• The Women’s National Super League sticks to its 24-team format.

Changes come into play at the grassroots level, where the federation has fine-tuned league organization:

FKF Division One will now feature four zones of 16 teams each.

• The Women’s Division One League adopts a zonal structure with four zones, each comprising 10 teams.

Promotion and Relegation: A Clearer Path Without Play-Offs

Among the most notable changes is the removal of the promotion/relegation play-off between the SportPesa League and NSL, a move designed to provide greater clarity and reward consistent performance.

In the men’s leagues:

• The bottom three teams from the SportPesa League will be automatically relegated to the NSL.
• The top three NSL teams will gain direct promotion to the top tier.

At the NSL level:

• The four teams finishing at the bottom will drop into Division One.
• Each Division One zone winner earns automatic promotion to the NSL.
• Within Division One, the bottom three teams in every zone will be relegated to the lower regional levels.

In the women’s structure, a similar framework will be applied:

• The three lowest-ranked clubs in the Women’s Premier League will be relegated to the Women’s NSL.
• The top team from each Women’s NSL zone will secure automatic promotion.
• An additional promotion spot will be awarded to the winner of a play-off match between the two second-placed teams.
• In each Women’s NSL zone, the bottom two teams will drop to Women’s Division One.
• The zonal winners of Women’s Division One will move up, while the bottom three in each zone will be relegated.

Expanded Opportunities for Foreign Talent

In a progressive step to bolster talent diversity and league quality, FKF has updated its player registration policy across key competitions. Clubs in the SportPesa League, NSL, Women’s Premier League, and Women’s NSL will now be allowed to sign up to seven foreign players per season.

Notably, there will be no cap on the number of foreign players that a team can field in a single match; an adjustment expected to raise the standard of play and attract more international talent to the Kenyan game.