CS Amina hailed for steadily holding the sports ship in Kenya

Kenyan local sports stakeholders have lauded Cabinet Secretary for sports Dr Amina Mohamed for putting in place proper structures geared towards development of the game in the country.

This comes a day after Kenya hosted two major international athletics events in Kip Keino Classic on Saturday at Kasarani stadium and Nairobi City Marathon the following day along Express way.

1/2 President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta join thousands of athletics fans at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi County for this year’s Kip Keino Classic. #KipKeinoClassic pic.twitter.com/9dr0QqeLCJ

— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) May 7, 2022

On Sunday,President Uhuru Kenyatta while attending the Mashemeji derby boosted the financially struggling Football Kenya Federation Premier League sides AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia with a whopping Sh12 million to each of the two clubs to cater for their expenses in the remaining five matches of the top tier.

Speaking to KBC Digital Sports, Ingwe Chairman Dan Shikanda hailed the gesture by the head of state saying CS Amina played an integral part in executing the deal.

“She has worked closely with most of us and unlike most minsiters she is accessible and listens to grievances of sports stakeholders locally. Managing to bring the President who is not associated so much with football is not a mean achievement and credit to her for steadily holding the ship” he said.

1/2 President Uhuru Kenyatta joins Kenyan football fans, among them former Prime Minister @RailaOdinga, at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani for Sunday’s Nairobi derby pitting arch-rivals @OfficialGMFC vs @AFCLeopards. pic.twitter.com/eq2AOKL2vL

— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) May 8, 2022

President Kenyatta attended all the three sporting events and reiterated his commitment towards supporting the developmentof sports in Kenya.

He pointed out that Kenya’s position as one of the best sporting destinations in the world is buoyed by its renowned athletics talents and the infrastructure the Government has put in place.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga who also attended the game on his part,said there are plans to hire well qualified coaches who will be tasked with raising local football standards to international levels.

“We have agreed to bring professional coaches who can help nurture our talents here in Kenya so that we can produce good players like Victor Wanyama who played for Tottenham Hotspurs,”

“Today we have spoken to the President and he has donated to Gor and AFC Leopards each Sh2 million for the players. To the clubs, he has donated Sh10 million to each club to help them finish the league. However, in future our clubs have to engage in income generating activities,” said Odinga, who was flanked by former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth.

This is the second time the head of state has attended a Kenyan Premier League (KPL) match since being elected president in 2013 in what is viewed as an endorsement for Kenyan football from the highest office in the land.

He first graced 88th edition of the ‘Mashemeji Derby’ in March 2020.

Gor Mahia stretched their dominance over rivals AFC Leopards to six years after a second-half goal allowed them to snatch a 1-1 draw at Kasarani Stadium on Sunday.

Last November, CS Amina Mohamed sent the Football Kenya Federation out of office and formed a caretaker committee chaired by retired Justice Aaron Ringera to run local football.

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