NAROBI, Kenya, Dec 4 – As the Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) conduct a two-week boot camp training for 3000 budding athletes across Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nairobi, Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports Kipchumba Murkomen has urged organisers to incorporate technology as a main source of talent search.
Murkomen, who was speaking Wednesday morning in Nairobi during the launch of the camps, also directed KAS to work with school coaches cum teachers across the counties as he vowed to increase the number of athletes to 10,000 in 2025.
The athletes comprising of talent scouted from the Primary and Secondary School Games, have already converged in respective cities for the camp that has incorporated disciplines among them athletics, football, volleyball, rugby, basketball, amputee football and chess.
After the two-week training, an All-Star team will be selected by the scouts for an elite camp in Nairobi where international sports scouts will be invited to tap the talents.
“I give direction to KAS that you need to have a proper technology application that will help source talent, so that the process is transparent and is able to capture all the athletes we need in the country,” Murkomen said.
The CS added, “As a ministry we are excited to be partnering with the Ministry of Education to make sure that the top talent that we have in the country is brought together from different institutions to make sure that they are recognized and their skills are horned to make sure each one of them is going to have an opportunity to grow their talent so that we achieve our objective of Talanta Hela.”
“I have requested KAS to concentrate on growing talent among the young people and leave the older ones who have graduated from this level to move and be managed by federations.”
KAS CEO Dr Doreen Odhiambo said, “This camp brings together highly talented athletes, their teachers and highly qualified coaches from various sports disciplines for a two-week intense training.”
“It aims to nurture all young talents and provide a platform for budding athletes to refine their skills in preparations for national and international competition,” she added.
On the sports policy and review of the Sports Act, CS Murkomen outlined that, “Even as we review the Sports Act and Sports policy, we want to make sure that we are clear on the roadmap through Primary and Secondary schools and then we see how the Universities, Colleges and Federations will take over. Within the next five months we should have a draft report which is a policy and have a legal frame work that will guide us.”
