Cabinet Secretary for Sports Dr Amina Mohamed has heaped much praise on President Uhuru Kenyatta for his decision to establish the National Sports Fund in order to help funding sports activities in the country.
The fund, whose main source of revenue are proceeds from betting, gaming and lotteries, was established to offer support to sports federations, training and technical areas has immensely contributed towards growth and development of the sports in Kenya according to the CS
“As of October 2021 the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund had collected Sh30.3 billion since it was operationalised in February 2019,and these monies have played an integral role in supporting several sporting activities in the country ranging from cushioning athletes during covid-19 pandemic, facilitation of our various teams that participated in Tokyo Olympics, footing all expenses of Harambee Stars participation in 2019 AFCON in Egypt,funding improvement of our sports infrastructure like stadia among other many achievements” noted the CS
“This couldn’t have been possible without the support of our loving President who is passionate about sports and he came up with this idea to make Kenya a better place for our sportsmen and women” she said
The National Sports Fund was established through the enactment of the Sports Act 2013 and is domiciled within the ministry responsible for sports, currently the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts.
The main goal for establishing the Fund is to raise funds to facilitate growth and development of the sports industry in the country. In addition, the funds will be used to train the necessary sports personnel and support the cash award scheme for the purpose of enhancing competitiveness among the country’s sports men and women.
The National Sports Fund was identified as a flagship project in the Vision 2030 and given prominence in the 1st and 2nd Medium Term Plans to elevate the sports industry which has a huge potential of creating income opportunities for our youth through sports professionalism.
Over the years, Kenya has participated in major international championships including Regional, Continental and World championships as well as Commonwealth, Olympic Games, Paralympics, Deaflympics. During these competitions, Team Kenya has demonstrated exemplary performance. The Country is now set on diversifying into other sports disciplines.
At the same time,the CS has reiterated her commitment to continue engaging with world football governing body FIFA in a bid to end the stalemate over Kenya’s suspension by Gianni Infantino led body on grounds of government interference with football activities in the country.
She asked FIFA to allow Kenya to clean up the rot and restore sanity in Kenyan football.
“We understand FIFA is a sovereign football body and its decisions should be respected and we affirm our utmost respect to their governance systems. However most sports operations are supported by Sports Fund which is majorly tax payers money hence FIFA should allow the government to tame financial impropriety by the federations in a bid to ensure prudent use of resources allocated to them especially during major competitions like AFCON,World Cup qualifiers among others” added the Dr Amina
Just like Kenya,Zimbabwe was equally suspended indefinitely owing to government interference in the operations of the national football federation.
Nairobi and Harare dissolved their federations late last year and replaced them with government-appointed officials.
Kenyan and Zimbabwean football teams, including club sides vying for Confederation of African Football tournaments, will not play internationally. Teams and the national football associations will remain suspended until Fifa reinstates the memberships of the two countries. Their ability to qualify for the men’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is thrown into doubt.
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