Sports superstars who’ve visited Kenya in 2022
Sports personalities have elected to visit and wind down in Kenya after a long and grueling season.
Here are some of the standout names.
1. Lewis Hamilton – With seven titles to his name, the 37-year-old Briton statistically is one of the most successful Formula one drivers of all time. He is reported to have arrived in Nairobi on Sunday and is expected to tour the vast and popular Maasai Mara Reserve to witness this year’s Great Wildebeest migration.
2. Samuel Eto’o – In May 2021, the retired Cameroonian footballer and his family flew to Malindi for holiday. Currently serving as the Cameroon Football Association (FA) present, Eto’o a former Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Chelsea footballer, who is considered among the best ever African players of all time, shared images of his stay alongside a ‘Thank You’ message on social media.
3. Mauro Icardi – The Argentinian forward was spotted feeding giraffes at the Giraffe Center in Nairobi. The attacker, attached to French club Paris Saint Germain, was in the company of his wife Wanda Nara, a famous actor who also acts as his agent. He wrote on social media: “In this ‘mansion’ it was all possible to live with them and make the giraffes feel in their habitat and be able to satisfy all their needs and help this species to multiply more and more.”
4. Kalvin Philips – In July 2022, the English footballer toured the Finch Hattons Luxury Camp at the expansive Tsavo West National Park. This was days before he left Leeds United to join champions Manchester City. He described the experience as ‘unforgettable’, saying: “The past two weeks we travelled to Kenya on a safari which was an experience I don’t think we will ever be able to top. Me and Ashleigh absolutely love animals so having a chance to do our best David Attenborough is something we won’t ever forget seeing these animals in the wild was unreal.”
5. Tyler Onyango – In June 2022, Everton midfielder Tyler Onyango enjoyed his holiday in Mombasa. The footballer who made his breakthrough in the just ended 2021/22 English Premier League season, posted photos showing him relaxing on the beach at the Kenyan Coastal city.
Kenya is considered among the best tourist destinations in the world.
The country receives close to Sh2 million tourists every year, a great recovery from 600,000 registered during the Covid-19 lockdown.
With most of the tourists visiting game parks in Nairobi and Maasai Mara, or heading to the Coast to sample the white sandy beaches and soak in the sun, Kenya continues to thrive in tourism.