NAIROBI, Kenya, SEPT 1 – Close to two years until the Paris Olympics, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) is close to sealing a deal for a pre-training camp for Team Kenya in Southern France.
NOCK president Paul Tergat led a delegation of Executive Committee members to the southern city of Miramas where they are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with various parties, including the Miramas commune, to enable Team Kenya continue their preparations towards the Olympics.
“Others expected to be part of the MOU include the Stadium Miramas Metropole. The endeavour aligns with NOC-K’s strategic direction for the year 2022-2024, in which, among others, seeks to strengthen sports diplomacy and international relations,” NOCK secretary general Francis Mutuku said.
Miramas is a French territorial division in Southern France, Provence of Alpes, and is the largest commune in the city of Marseille, with a population of approximately 27, 000 inhabitants.
In April this year, Stadium Miramas Metropole was the host of 11 Kenyan sprinters who underwent a month-long training and competition with their peers in France in readiness for the World Under 20 Championship in Cali, Colombia.
The camp was a product of a partnership between Miramas Athletics Club and Athletics Kenya (AK) during which the Kenyan sprinters underwent technical training.
It has also been selected by the Organising Committee of the Olympics as a preparation center for the games.
Mutuku said the MoU is not only restricted to the Paris Olympics but may also extend beyond the quadrennial games to benefit budding sports talents in the country.
“Miramas is one of the key outcomes arising from some of the efforts put so far. The primary objective of this partnership is to benefit individual athletes and teams in their preparation towards the Paris 2024 Olympics. But further than that, it is envisaged that this partnership will go beyond Paris 2024,” he said.
Mutuku added: “The discussions have progressed to the next stage where the Miramas host parties would like to engage in the finer details of the partnership with a view to signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NOC-K and subsequently get into an agreement. Detailed information of the partnership will be shared upon signing of the MOU with Miramas.”
At the last edition of the Olympics, Team Kenya were resident at Kurume City in Japan before travelling to Tokyo for the opening ceremony.
