I hope that it's not true, these other nations and officials could be jealous of Kenya, and sabotage, tarnish the image by e.g. lacing drink with banned substance.

Kenya should think about testing athletes locally before departing, then take own water, food, & chef. Can't be too cautious about these matters.

Oliver Mathenge is so right.
Thank you Mathenge !!!!!!!!!

Ask most sportsmen who have represented kenya and they will tell you stories about government neglect

Sportsmen are tired of government officials who do literally nothing to promote good sports performance suddenly jump on the bandwagon and take credit when a team does well.

When Stephen Kiprotich won gold for Uganda at the Olympics he said the same thing.

Its funny to see the Kenya sports minister posing for pictures with Malkia strikers after they win yet he probably does not even know how Kenya became good at volleyball. It is the grassroots coaches who volunteer to teach the youth volleyball and who do it with no government assistance. They are the ones who should be posing for pictures and taking credit.

Funny a few years back I saw Hellen Sambili boasting on TV how "under her leadership" , the Kenya sevens team reached the semi-finals of the world cup. She probably does not even know how many players play on a sevens team.

Fact is that most politicians neglect sportsmen, government does not build facilities, does not create policies to support sportsmen then quickly takes credit.

There is so much that the govt could be doing. Start by implementing the sports lottery that was promised as far back as 1998.

1. Government can provide funding by putting in place a lottery system to fund sports. This has been done in other countries succesfully. Kenya government promised it as far back as 1998.

2. Government can offer corporates tax breaks if they sponsor sports

2b. Government should give tax breaks to individuals who sponsor or own clubs like Elly kalekwa of Sofapaka and Bob Munro of Mathare.

3. Government need not intefere with Nyamweya's eating but they can make life difficult for him. Nyamweya gets millions from FIFA which he puts in his pocket. So just bust him for tax evasion. Or put the Kenya anti corruption authority on his case. In Cameroon, the federation chair was thrown in jail for corruption.

4. All the stadia in Kenya were built by colonialists with the exception of Nyayo and Kasarani. In fact most rugby stadia in kenya were also built by the colonialists That means that the colonialists did more to build sporting infrastructure than successive Kenya governments.

4b. Even mitaani sports grounds like jericho grounds were built by the colonialists. Our government does not build fields hapo mitaani. Instead the playing grounds are grabbed by well connected individuals. The famous Muthurwa boxing hall aka Dallas where many Kenyan boxing legends of 70s and 80s were groomed is constantly under pressure of being grabbed.

4c. And the sporting infrastructure built by the government is often crumbling. Nyayo stadium basketball gym is actually leaking so it rains on fans and players.

City stadium surface is so dilapidated yet city of nairobi charge a fortune for its use. Where does all that money go?

5. The colonial government provided free land for sports clubs like Impala RFC, Nondies and Railways sports club, Mombasa sports club and Harlequins.
The current government should also provide land for established but struggling clubs like AFC, Gor Mahia, Mwamba RFC, Kisumu RFC with an MOU signed stating that the land can only be used for sporting activity. This would really help clubs that are struggling financially.


Bottomline: There is plenty the government can do that is done in other countries.

@murchr

Parliament is not needed. The sports act was passed as far back as 2012 already mandates the creation of a sports lottery yet no such thing has happened.

The sports act itself was mooted in the late 1990s. Finally in 2012, Minister Namwamba pushed it through parliament and it was passed after other sports ministers had done nothing.

Now it has been passed and the sports minister is doing nothing to implement it.

I give credit to Namwamba and Mutua in Machakos for taking initiative. The Kisumu governor is useless in this regard. The stadium was built in large part due to funding from FIFA. The Kisumu governor only reacted to political pressure. And that stadium is still incomplete.