Vaccination programme offers ray of hope for sport

There seems to be ray of hope following an intensive national vaccination exercise which kicked off at the weekend, targeting at least 3,500 sportsmen in the first phase as a way of mitigating the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

This move by the Government gives sports fraternity hope to continue believing that President Uhuru Kenyatta will lift the ban on sports, signaling hope that league action may resume soon. Kenyans want not only all the football leagues to resume but also other sports which are the source of livelihood to many families.

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed launched the exercise that is also targeting over 700 footballers and officials for the vaccination as part of the efforts by the federation to ensure our players are protected against contracting Covid-19.

Football constitutes a huge chunk of sportsmen in the country, and already Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa has confirmed that the Government, through the Ministry of Sports, will issue Covid-19 compliant certificate and passport to the players once they are inoculated.

Mwendwa on Saturday said all players, match officials and sports journalist who interact with the players will have to be vaccinated.

There is evidence that sports and creative economies have been worst hit by the effects of the pandemic, although our athletes have shown incredible resilience and agility during this period.

Athletes who are Kenya’ s international brand ambassadors have observed all the Ministry of Health guidelines with admirable discipline. The exercise ending Tuesday will ensure that all clubs comply with the requirement as Kenyans wait for the resumption of our leagues.

It’s encouraging that Mwendwa is also talking to the Government to include National Super League, Women Premier League and the lower league players in the vaccination programme. He has said that vaccinations of all players should end in one week and urged the government to allow the resumption of the league on April 24.

All international events Kenya was lined up to host require preparations, including full vaccination and reciprocal compliance with international Covid-19 Sporting Protocols. 

I commend the Sports Ministry for commencing a nationwide vaccination covering all our national teams, with priority for teams preparing for 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games.