Nairobi News

Sports

Athletics Kenya, Ministry of Sport petition EU to allow athletes to compete abroad


Athletics Kenya (AK) and the Ministry of Sport have confirmed they have started engaging European Union embassies to allow Kenyan athletes to compete as sporting activities slowly resume.

Kenya was among the countries that were omitted from the list whose citizens are allowed to travel into the Schengen region with boarders reopening from last week as travel restrictions continue to ease.

This practically means a further loss of crucial income for Kenyan athletes as most high profile races are held in this region and this is a situation the Kenyan authorities are eager to reverse.

“Our athletes have suffered a lot since the lockdown was instituted and we don’t want them to suffer further if they can get a chance to go and compete,” AK president Jackson Tuwei said.

“If they miss a whole season then it is not about just missing travel, they are also missing a lot in terms of finances, profiles and even in terms of rankings,” he added.

Tuwei confirmed that a team from AK and the Ministry of Sport has approached envoys of the European countries to hopefully establish a process of having Kenyan athletes cleared to run in the region.