NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 23 – The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report recommends the setting up of publicly funded special talent promotion centres throughout the country.
The Task Force says that if the report is implemented, the centers will help in tapping and nurturing talent at a tender age across the country that will help feed players to national teams.
Also in the report that will be launched next Monday, is the restructure and capacity-building of the national agency responsible for sports by providing proper funding for it.
The report also proposes proper funding for this agency as well as an increase in the accountability of this agency.
The proposal has been received with relief by the Sports Fraternity who have been trying to get ways to tap and nurture talent from an early age.
“I think this is something really great if the government implements it because it is going to go a very long way in enabling not only football but also most sports in getting talents from the grassroot. Most of the time as a Federation, we can only get to some extent but with help from government we can go further,” Football Kenya Federation Technical Director Michael Amenga says.
He adds; “As FKF we have our Centre of Excellence here in Nairobi, but we want to extend to have them in every region. If we have this and what the government is promising, then we will go far.”
Athletics Kenya (AK) Nairobi boss, Barnaba Korir welcomed the proposed ideas but called for action to be taken if it will be implemented.
“Those talent centres are good ideas if implemented, if set up well, this will raise the standards of sports in our country. But the challenge is that most of the times whet is proposed and passed is not implemented because most of the time it is the undoing thing,” Korir told Capital Sport.
He added, “We can change the constitution 100 times, but if the regulations are not adhered to, then even changing it, it will mean nothing. For example in Athletics, we have camps set up across the country to tap and develop talent but they are all set up by foreigners, if we do it ourselves and have proper management, and connect the talent centres with schools way up to university like it is done in the USA then talent will not get lost.”
