The following article is a summary of the 2013 football season in Kenya, which is the Golden Jubilee (50th) competitive season in its history.
On 10 July, it was announced that the Football Kenya Federation introduced a new league system to take effect from the beginning of the 2014 season. This involved the introduction and scrapping of a few leagues, and the re-organisation of the system.
The 2013 Kenyan Premier League season began on 24 February 2013 and is scheduled to end on 9 November 2013, with a break that will last from 26 May 2013 to 23 June 2013.
The 2013 FKF Division One season began on 23 March and is scheduled to end on 17 November. For this season, all Division One teams endorsed a decision to split both Zone A and Zone B into two groups of 12 teams each, increasing the total number of teams in the league to 48. It was decided that the first group from Zone A comprise teams from the Nairobi, Aberdares and Mount Kenya regions while the second group comprise teams from the Eastern, North and South Coast regions. The first group from Zone B is to comprise teams from the South Nyanza, Central and South Rift regions while the second group comprise teams from the North Nyanza, North Rift and Western regions. Winners from each of these four groups will play the winners from the other group in their zone in a two-legged play-off tie to determine who gains promotion to the Kenyan Premier League for the following season.
On 25 April, the Football Kenya Federation decided to slash the league to 20 teams for the 2014 season. For that to happen, it was decided that the league will consist of top 5 teams in each zone (except the two teams that win the promotion play-offs) in addition to the two relegated Premier League teams. The remaining 29 teams will be relegated to FKF Division Two, which will begin next season, along with the 8 teams promoted from the Provincial League.
The promotion play-offs were contested between the winners of each of the 2 groups in both zones, to determine the winners of the zones, who would be consequently promoted to the Premier League. The losers would still gain promotion to the National Super League.
The 2013 FKF President's Cup began on 20 July ended on 17 November.
During the 2013 season there were 2 Kenyan Super Cup matches held.
The first 2013 Kenyan Super Cup match was played on 23 February 2013 between Tusker, the 2012 Kenyan Premier League champions, and Gor Mahia, the 2012 FKF President's Cup champions. Gor Mahia won 5âÂÂ4 on penalties after the match ended 0âÂÂ0 at full-time.
The second 2013 Kenyan Super Cup match was played on 14 December 2013 between Gor Mahia, the 2013 Kenyan Premier League champions, and Tusker, the 2013 KPL Top 8 Cup champions. Tusker won 5âÂÂ3 on penalties after the match ended 1âÂÂ1 at full-time.
The 2013 KPL Top 8 Cup began on 3 April with the quarter-finals and ended on 24 July with the final.
The 2013 CAF Champions League began on 15 February 2013 and ended on 10 November 2013. Tusker were representing Kenya in the competition, having won the 2012 Kenyan Premier League.
In the preliminary round, Tusker faced St Michel United, the 2012 Seychelles League champions, and won 7âÂÂ1 on aggregate over two legs, played on 16 February and 2 March.
In the first round, Tusker faced Al-Ahly, who have won the Egyptian Premier League a record 36 times and the CAF Champions League a record 7 times, and lost 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate over two legs, played on 16 March and 7 April.
The 2013 CAF Confederation Cup began on 16 February 2013 and ended on 30 November 2013. Gor Mahia were representing Kenya in the competition, having won the 2012 FKF President's Cup.
In the preliminary round, Gor Mahia faced Anse Réunion, the 2012 Seychelles FA Cup champions, and won 5âÂÂ0 on aggregate over two legs, played on 16 February and 2 March.
In the first round, Gor Mahia faced ENPPI, the 2010âÂÂ11 Egypt Cup winners, and lost 3âÂÂ0 on aggregate over two legs, played on 15 March and 6 April.
The national team participated in the second round of World Cup qualifications in Africa. They were eliminated from the competition after losing 1âÂÂ0 to Nigeria on 5 June.
The national team participated in the preliminary round of qualification for the 2014 African Nations Championship. They were eliminated from the competition having lost 1âÂÂ0 to Burundi on aggregate. The first leg was played on 16 December 2012.
Kenya were invited to participate in the 14th edition of the COSAFA Cup, which is being hosted by Zambia and is scheduled to run from 6 to 20 July. They were eliminated from the competition after losing 2âÂÂ1 to Botswana on 11 July in the group stage.
<sup>â </sup>This fixture was originally scheduled to take place on 7 July at 15:00 UTC+2. However, Kenya's arrival at the tournament was delayed due to the players' league commitments.
The 37th edition of the CECAFA Cup was held in Kenya from 27 November to 12 December. The national team was drawn with Ethiopia, South Sudan and Zanzibar in Group A.
The following is a list of all other matches played by the Kenya men's team in 2013.