NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 18 – Kenyan sports will once again be thrown off balance after the Government through the Ministry of Health on Thursday announced new containment measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced new measures that will affect the counties of Kakamega, Kisumu, Vihiga, Busia, Nyamira, Vihiga, Bungoma, Kericho, Bomet, Trans Nzoia, Siaya, Homabay and Migori.
Among the measures put in place in those counties is the suspension of all sporting activities.
The new measures will throw off balance the Kenya Cup and various Football Kenya Federation Leagues which had already taken off. The Kenya Cup was scheduled for a return this weekend.
“We have seen the new measures but we are looking at how to go about it and we will make a communication soon,” said FKF CEO Barry Otieno.
The BetKing Premier League was getting to the business end with the second leg already flying off with four games already chalked off.
The new measures will have an impact on Kakamega Homeboyz (Kakamega), Western Stima (Kisumu), Nzoia Sugar (Bungoma) and Vihiga United (Vihiga) while the National Super League will be even harder hit.
This weekend, Homeboyz were to travel to Nairobi to take on Nairobi City Stars, Western Stima were to play Nzoia in Kisumu while Vihiga were to play at home against Bandari in Mumias.
With effect from today, the new measures will come into place, but the Government says that movement in and out of the restricted areas is ‘strongly discouraged’. This might open up an opportunity for the said teams to opt to play out of their counties.
If the FKF and league managers had enough financial power, then they might have put the said teams in bubbles out of their respective counties. But the lack of funds will definitely make this impossible.
The leagues have already been halted once this season for two months, but after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s speech on Labor Day as well as the vaccination of sportsmen, resumption was allowed.
