Kenyan corporates should make Paris Olympics memorable for all athletes

Picture this…the year is 2040. Yes, a whole 16 years from today.

Nairobi will hopefully be a modern city complete with an efficient public transport system featuring electric buses and state-of-the-art railway to decongest the Central Business District (CBD). The capital city will also be home to at least five modern stadiums making Nairobi a prime sports tourism destination.

Sports as an industry will most likely be a lucrative one if the pace at which Talanta Hela programme has picked is anything to go by. But what about the stars of today? The likes of Angella Okutoyi, Michael Olunga, Kelvin Kiptum, Faith Kipyegon and Sharon Chepchumba. Most of them will have already retired or will be on the verge of transitioning into roles such as administration or coaching in the sports industry. Such is the sad reality of sports, that it is a short career hence the need for professional athletes to reap maximum benefits while still active.

That is why Wednesday's meeting between Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba and corporate partners in the sports industry ahead of the Paris Olympics was not only timely but also important with less than 200 days to the Summer Games.

Life-changing moment

The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of competitive sports. It’s the dream of every athlete to feature at the Olympics even just for a second as a substitute in team sports. The title Olympian comes with great honour and is earned through years of sacrifice, consistency and sheer hard work!

It’s for this reason that participating in the Olympic Games should be a life-changing moment for any athlete. Besides the honour of being an Olympian, an athlete should have something tangible to take home from their appearance at the Olympics.

Over the years, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) and the government through the State Department of Sports have played their role in ensuring that players get good allowances when going for the Olympic Games. This has partly contributed to the cut-throat competition for a place in Team Kenya in the latter stages of the preparations phase. But while this has provided enough motivation for athletes to be in their best shape to be selected in Team Kenya, little has been done to ensure that our athletes remain competitive throughout the Games especially for team sports.

Marketing vehicles

Athletics has contributed the majority of Kenya’s medals at the Olympic Games and it’s befitting that there is an existing reward structure; gold (Sh1 million), silver (Sh750,000) and bronze (Sh500,00). Team sports have struggled to get close to this purse but in recent years they have shown steady improvement. It’s just a matter of time before disciplines such as rugby and volleyball get to the podium but before they get there, it’s a long process that needs constant motivation for them to dine at the high table.

And this is where corporates can cash in and use the respective team sports as marketing vehicles in the run-up to the Olympic Games. Take for instance a team like Shujaa. With Safaricom launching their new 5G network, they can easily use fast-rising speedster Patrick Odongo to demonstrate the strength and speed of their internet service that cuts through geographical obstacles to keep customers connected throughout the day. What about an additional motivation perk of Sh5 million for the team for every game they win at the Olympics?

Quick mathematics will show you that at least four wins at the Olympics will get you to the semi-final stage in rugby sevens and any additional win from there will guarantee you a medal.

The possibilities are endless with our women national teams that have qualified for Paris 2024. A good number of our Malkia Strikers and Lionesses players are mothers. What’s preventing a company like Huggies from sponsoring Malkia Strikers and using players like Trizah Atuka or Mercy Moim to display their new brand of diapers?

The mere fact that these teams have qualified for the Paris Olympics shows that their parent federations have put in work over the last four years and it’s time for the athletes to reap big. If our very own corporates can’t support our teams at a time when they are going to achieve the highest level of sporting excellence, who will? It’s high time corporates boost NOC-K’s kitty so that players can reap maximum benefits while still active.

It would be a pleasant surprise if any member of the current Team Kenya posts a photo of his rural home on social media in 2040 with the land it’s sitting on having been bought from proceeds of participating in the Paris 2024 edition. Or better still, one posing with his kid who has just graduated from university thanks to an education policy purchased through allowances paid during the Paris Olympics.

Participating at the Olympics should leave a lasting memory in the life of an athlete and it’s my hope that Kenyan corporates will heed Namwamba’s call and give NOC-K all their monies. If anything, Team Kenya for the Paris 2024 Olympics deserve it now more than ever amid the biting economic challenges that Kenya is facing.