Football Kenya Federation (FKF) National Executive Committee (NEC) announced a raft of decisions ahead of the start of the 2025-26 Kenya Premier League season, including significant changes to league compositions, promotion and relegation formats, and player registration rules.

According to a press statement by FKF, the 2025-26 league season that kicked off in on September 19, 2025, will run through to June 2026, maintaining the traditional nine-month calendar.

NEC confirmed that SportPesa League Compositions will retain its 18-team format, while the National Super League (NSL) will continue with 20 teams. In the women’s competitions, the FKF Women’s Premier League remains a 12-team contest, with the FKF Women’s National Super League holding steady at 24 teams.

The lower tiers will feature slight adjustments, where FKF Division One League will comprise four zones of 16 teams each. The FKF Women’s Division One League will consist of four zones of 10 teams each.

In regards to promotion and relegation, a key change is the abolition of the SportPesa League/NSL promotion-relegation play-off. Instead, the bottom three teams in the SportPesa League will be relegated directly to the National Super League.

The top three NSL teams will earn automatic promotion to the SportPesa League. The bottom four NSL teams will drop to Division One, with the four zonal winners of Division One earning direct promotion to the NSL.

In each Division One zone, the bottom three teams will be relegated to the lower tier.

Meanwhile, the Women’s leagues will follow a similar structure where the bottom three Women’s Premier League teams will be relegated to the Women’s National Super League. The zonal winners of the Women’s National Super League will gain automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the third promotion slot will be decided by a one-off play-off between the two second-placed teams.

The bottom two teams in each Women’s National Super League zone will be relegated to Women’s Division One. The top team in each Women’s Division One zone will secure promotion to the Women’s National Super League, while the bottom three in each zone will drop to the lower tier.

To enhance competitiveness, clubs in the SportPesa League, Women’s Premier League, National Super League, and Women’s National Super League will now be allowed to register up to seven foreign nationals per season.

Importantly, there will be no restrictions on the number of foreign players allowed on the pitch during matches.

These changes mark a significant step in streamlining the Kenyan football pyramid and ensuring clear pathways for promotion and relegation across both men’s and women’s leagues.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Anita Omwenga