Fulfil promise on sports

President Kenyatta’s declaration that all national teams will get state funding is laudable. The government is mandated to fund national teams through the Sports, Art and Social Development Fund (formerly the National Sports Fund), yet teams have been subjected to inadequate funding.

At yesterday’s Beyond Zero Half Marathon, in Nairobi, President Kenyatta gave a solid commitment that his government will prioritise sports funding this year, with all national teams competing in international events fully funded. Sport plays a key role in national unity. Indeed, Kenyan teams and athletes are important brand ambassadors and deserve better. The Sports, Art and Social Development Fund should be fully operational.

We hope this will not end up an empty promise. During the campaigns for 2013 elections, President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto promised to build five new stadiums across the country to nurture football talent. This is yet to be realised, even as some national teams and athletes face difficulty in preparing for or while competing in international events for lack of funds.

Kenya’s ill-funded and poorly motivated sevens rugby team has lost all its Group ‘B’ matches in the World Rugby Sevens Series, in Canada. Like their 15s peers, the sevens have struggled all season owing to inadequate funding. Last November, a national team held a vigil at the Sports ministry offices to compel the government to pay them Sh2 million in player allowances for taking part in the Amputee Football World Cup, in Mexico.

The 15s rugby team also endured similar problems while preparing for the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifier tournament in Marseille. That is why Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed should follow through the President’s declaration.