More by this Author
At this blank time and news headlines hoarded by the annoying coronavirus, sports news seems to have taken a back seat.
We here are seemingly hidden but we must do our solemn duty of informing our readers that the Covid-19 is now a boring affair. We enlighten and give them some respite from the Corona infested opinions.
Even here it seems very hard to escape the virus since most of our source of material, viz. sports, has been halted.
We cannot, however, stop since we know all too well that without sportsmen and women there will never be sports! These sportsmen and women are the main thing in the game and they are living human beings of flesh and blood.
They do have needs like all of us and we must remind them that with even the curfews and contemplated lockdowns, they must continually find time to practice hard and remain as fit as possible.
Nobody — the authorities included — know just when this ennui shall come to an end. We believe that it may ebb within a month or so but that is just our wishes and we may get to ride them as beggars may do once in a while.
We have mused in these pages about the lack of pay for our players and the hard life they are living at the moment. We have also pointed out that those whose contracts have expired may not get their pay for the months coming.
We are of the faith that it is these considerations that made the president announce some Sh100 million package to save such a situation. This amount of money, said the president himself, was to be obtained from the sports fund. The aim of the money was to cushion musicians, actors and artists “during these tough period”.
This was an encouraging act from the government but it really came as a shock to us who worship sports. The money was to be procured from the Sports Fund but sportsmen and women were not in any way to benefit from the same cushion. It sent a very wrong and unhappy message to all the players.
Indeed, the present season has been a nightmare for our hard working lads and lasses; they have gone without proper funds and some teams had to be relegated due to lack of finances. Where their players disappeared to and what they eat and where they live is not known. They must also be considered in the “cushion financial”.
There are just too many musicians and artists in this country. There are even pretenders who will crowd the place and the folly witnessed during the funeral of John DeMatthew where thousands showed up and demanded to enter the statehouse as artistes.
The actors will also come in droves; even those that have uttered only a single line in a skit will need “cushion” too.
There is no database to get the bona fide artists and musicians. We all know that. With the players of football, there is sufficient data to guide. Start cushioning players now and deal with the disorganised crowd later.
