Sports Ministry to fund 'important' trips only, says PS Mueke

With the Ministry of Sports operating on a shoestring budget, Principal Secretary (PS) Jonathan Mueke has said that only games with potential economic value to the country, and those where Kenya is a powerhouse, or has the possibility of being one, will be given priority when it comes to funding.

At the same time, the PS has said that Kenya is committed to jointly hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and that the government will ensure the 2023 World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally set for June 22 to 25 in Naivasha, Nakuru County is a success.

Speaking during NTV’s Monday night sports show – SportOn! - Mueke revealed that the Ministry of Sports is in receipt of a funding request of up to Sh66 billion, against the less than Sh10 billion in the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.

The PS said that with the limited resources, and following Kenya Kwanza’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda, the utilisation of the funds will revolve around how to bring economic transformation to the country.

“We are not just going to be paying for a trip for somebody to go out, and play a friendly match somewhere. We are beginning to look at what economic benefits it will bring because sports has been identified as a potential mega industry,” said Mueke.

“We need to figure out which sports we are good at as a country, which ones we are not there (at the top) yet but there is the potential of doing so, and which ones are easy to monetize.”

He revealed that 96 per cent of all the funding by the Ministry of Sports in the 2021/22 financial budget was on federations’ trips and that they are keen not to make a similar mistake.

“We want to put money in sports, and not federations…That (funding trips) left little or no money going towards infrastructure, and talent development programmes,” he said.

In ensuring that Kenya stands a good chance of winning the bid to jointly host the 2027 Afcon with Uganda and Tanzania, Mueke said the government will soon embark on improving the standards of stadiums in the country.

He said that Football Kenya Federation (FKF) was in the process of putting up a joint bid document with the two nations.

The deadline for the submission of the expression of interest to host the 2027 Afcon was on April 20, and Nation Sport is yet to get a response from the Ministry of Sports, and FKF on whether they beat the deadline.

Mueke said that work is already going on at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Kasarani, and Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi in order for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to again allow venues to host international matches.

CAF banned the two stadiums from hosting international matches in October 2021. The pitch, media centre and floodlights are among the areas it told FKF to improve on.

Mueke said that they also have plans to build a new stadium of international level though the idea has not been crystallised yet.  

Regarding the upcoming Safari Rally in Naivasha, he said the government will in the course of this week release the funds to be used in the planning of the seventh round of the WRC.

Sports CS Ababu Namwamba had in February announced that the government will cut by half its sponsorship towards the Safari Rally.

The government pumped Sh 2.6 billion into last year’s Safari Rally.

“We are moving along pretty well and we believe we will have a good event,” said Mueke.

The official reconnaissance of the route (recce) will be done on June 20 and 21 which will also coincide with the scrutineering of the rally cars. The Shakedown for the top registered WRC drivers will be done on the Loldia Stage on June 22.

The official start of the rally will be at Uhuru Park, Nairobi.

Mueke said the Ministry of Sports is currently relooking at the Sports Policy with a view to amending the Sports Act 2013.

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