Kenyan Sports bears brunt of incessant politics

Kenyan sport is gradually grappling with effects of the current political uncertainty, a situation that has not only resulted in loss of opportunities to the athletes, but to other affected players and mainly the business communities. 

On Friday, the men’s national cricket team played Holland in a World Cricket League (WCL) Championship qualification match in East London, South Africa.

This game, which doubles up as a qualification assignment for the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and Wales, was otherwise supposed to have been played in Nairobi. 

But then, the change of venue was enforced at the last minute after the European team highlighted concerns over visiting and playing in Kenya.  

“The Netherlands Cricket Board seems to have raised the issue with the International Cricket Council (ICC), which have informed us that the game will now be played at the Buffalo Park cricket stadium in East London in South Africa,” Cricket Kenya confirmed in a statement last week.

With that statement, team Kenya players missed out on the usually critical home advantage required to mastermind a return to the grandest of competitions for the first time in a half a decade.

Similarly, the week-long Para-Volleyball African Championships, a biannual competition, was rescheduled to Kigali from Nairobi last month owing to similar challenges after the tournament organisers admitted to “security concerns over the political uncertainty.”

Add the 16-nation Africa Nations Championship (Chan) to that list. 

The Confederation of African Football handed Kenya the hosting rights for this competition in 2014 but then took them away last month owing to “inadequate preparations and the political climate.”

“That decision (by Caf) was unfortunate. The political uncertainty we are facing is something that has bothered the international community and I think that is why the competition organisers didn’t want to take chances,” Deputy President William Ruto explained.

Even the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) is concerned.

The regional football body has awarded Kenya the opportunity to host the regional 12-nation Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup tournament in November and December. 

Word has it the likes of bigwigs Zimbabwe and Ghana are interested in joining the party in a tournament that normally offers a cocktail of entertainment to football supporters during the festive season.

But there is a catch. 

“Cecafa president Mutasim Gafar said Kenya will be supported to host the Challenge Cup but because of the current political situation in Kenya, another country will be proposed as standby,” the Cecafa statement sent to newsrooms last week stated.

With this missed opportunities, several service providers including hotels, transport companies, security agencies, leasers of training grounds, stadiums, laundry personnel, stewards, referees, and even the supporters and sponsors, name them, who benefit from the presence of sports activities in one way or another, have now missed out.

SAFARI SEVENS POSTPONED

Meanwhile, the annual Safari Sevens tournament which normally attracts up to 20 foreign teams from Africa, Europe and Asia, has been postponed by a week.

The tournament, initially set for November 2 and 3, will now take place from November 10-11.

KRU vice chairman Thomas Opiyo says the changes have been occasioned by the repeat presidential election on October 26.

Also affected is the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon that has been moved from this month to November 26 due to the repeat presidential elections.