Broke government says it cannot fund sports teams
The Kenyan government says it is broke and unable to fund its national teams competing in international assignments.
This is despite the requirement by law for the government to fund national teams.
The stance was confirmed by Joel Atuti, a Director in the Ministry of Sports, via an internal memo.
“The State Department for Sports which has been facilitating various Sports Federations through SASDF for international events is not in a position to do so. This is because the Sports Department has exhausted its funding allocations from the SASDF for this financial year,” the statement reads in part.
Atuti adds that the lack of resources is a result of budget constraints.
“At the moment federations are requested to seek sponsorship from other organizations,” he adds.
Among the federations affected by this circular are the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) which is preparing to send the national women’s team to compete at the World Championships in Serbia later this year.
Also, the Kenya Rugby 15s team has extended a plea to the public to help it prepare for the 2023 World Cup qualifier through its social media handles.
There are questions as to why the government continues to fund a Transition committee set up to run football activities to the tune of tens of millions per month, and the Safari rally despite the said cash shortfall.