Local teams staying put
Kenya Morans players celebrate their win against Somalia during their Fiba Afrobasket 2021 qualifier match at Nyayo Gymnasium stadium in Nairobi on January 16, 2020.
What you need to know:
- The committee, which drew membership from Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Health, sports health practitioners, sports stakeholders and other sports professionals, submitted its report on July 13.
- On July 24, Amina gave federations a week to submit their feedback. The seven-day window elapsed on August 30.
Kenyan teams that will compete in international championships risk falling behind their opponents in preparations.
The teams can’t train because the government is yet to sanction the resumption of local sports activities.
National men’s basketball team Kenya Morans, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Equity Bank women’s basketball team have matches lined up from September through to November, while Kenyan football clubs and the national team are scheduled to play international matches.
The teams have no idea when they will start training seriously for matches. However, their opponents have started preparations for the events.
For instance, Tanzanian football giants Simba SC and Young Africans, who could be drawn against Gor Mahia in Caf Champions League, concluded their season a fortnight ago and have started the new season, giving their players the much-needed match practice while Gor are yet to start training in groups.
Key matches
Kenya Morans face Angola, Angola, Mozambique and Senegal in AfroBasket qualifiers in November, who are already training for the championship which will be staged from November 27 - 29. KPA and Equity Bank will play in Fiba Zone Five Club championships in Dar es Salaam.
“We urge the Sports CS to announce dates for resumption of sports. If the silence continues, our teams will be disadvantaged because other countries have resumed sports,” FKF presidential candidate Lordvick Aduda, said.
Kenya Basketball Federation chairman Paul Otula echoed similar sentiments.
“We seriously have to resume sporting activities otherwise it will be very difficult for our teams to effectively compete with other countries”, Otula said. He urged players to continue training in isolation in order to stay fit.
Otula said it was disappointing that Kenya’s opponents have named their teams and already in camp for the event while Kenya is yet even to resume sports. Rwanda will resume its national league in tournament format from October 16-24 to prepare for 2021 Fiba AfroBasket qualifiers due November.
On June 30, Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed appointed a resumption of sports advisory committee to draw up protocols for the resumption of sporting activities in Kenya following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The committee, which drew membership from Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Health, sports health practitioners, sports stakeholders and other sports professionals, submitted its report on July 13.
On July 24, Amina gave federations a week to submit their feedback. The seven-day window elapsed on August 30.
