Fifa, Kenya agree compromise

Kenyan football has been riven by dispute for years

The Kenyan government and Fifa have agreed a compromise to try and resolve the ongoing dispute over governance of football in the country.

At the moment, Fifa recognises one group of administrators, known as Football Kenya Limited or FKL.

The government deals with a rival group - which claims to be the legitimate Kenya Football Federation (KFF).

Now a joint committee is to be formed to run the game for most of this year.

The committee - which is likely to be formed from a combination of FKL and KFF officials - will have a nine-month mandate.

Representatives of Fifa will arrive in Nairobi shortly to complete the agreement, which was announced by the country's sports minister, Helen Sambili.

The minister said the committee would be operating before Kenya face Tunisia in the opening game of the final round of World Cup qualifiers at the end of March.

They will play Nigeria and Mozambique as well as Tunisia in the race for 2010.

Kenya Football Limited recently sacked the coach of the national team, Francis Kimanzi.

They said he had refused to take charge of planned friendly matches and had also refused to give interviews to the media at times.

The government has called for his reinstatement.