NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – In a bid to ensure Team Kenya is well oiled for the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee and ANOCA will offer scholarships to at least 15 athletes.
NOC-K Ag. Secretary General, Francis Mutuku affirmed that the organization is committed to continue supporting the qualified teams and those in the qualification pathway as it aims to take atleast 100 athletes to Tokyo with an expectation of hailing more medals than ever before.
In addition, NOC-K will provide team preparation grants to the national women’s volleyball team, Mlakia Strikers and the ladies rugby sevens team, Kenya Lionesses.
“All the teams currently in the qualification pathways will be supported by the Government and NOC-K to ensure that they qualify for the games,” Mutuku announced.
He added, “We expect to roll out various programs associated with the Olympiad such as athlete support through scholarships, programs aimed at capacity building for administrators and technical officials as well as enhancing the knowledge and expertise of sports support environment such as physiotherapists and doctors.”
To achieve the goals, NOC-K have planned programs and training camps for adequate preparations.
With COVID-19 hard hitting the sports industry, NOC-K have organized a bubble training camp in February that will accommodate qualified teams.
This will help athletes resume training and prepare for the residential training camp slated for early April. In the month of July, the Kenyan team is expected to proceed to the international training camp in Kurume City for at least 14 days.
“In addition, we will start the preparations for all teams eligible to participate in the Paris 2024 games including skating and breakdancing the latest additions to the Olympic program.”
“Our sports development agenda will continue in the year 2021. We will put our focus on youth development in sports. Towards this we have developed various programs aimed at empowering young athletes. To promote youth development, we expect to roll out a sports science center comprising of a high-performance center for all national teams as well as a youth sports center,” the Ag. Secretary General stated.
“We have also developed programs for current athletes including change makers application as well as the career transition training 365+ aimed at empowering athletes make the transition from active athlete more fluid. This will include training on business skills and other skills to empower them transit from active sports.”
