STRATEGYFOR PROMOTINGSPORT IN KENYA

By

Andanje Mwisukha (Ph. D) and Newton Mukolwe (M.ed)Department of Exercise, Recreation and Sports Science

Kenyatta UniversityP.O. Box 43844 Nairobi

Email: mwisukha@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Sport is a human activity that coni rib utes immenseLy to the welfare of participants and the societyas a whole. It is appreciated across people of varying cuLtures, races, age, gender, colour andreligion. It is recognized as a facet of socio-cultural, political and economic development.However, inspite of the level of recognition that sport elljoys in Kenya, minimal achievementshave been made by her sportsmen and sportswomen in the major sports disciplines in the world.The limelight that the country enjoyed on the international scene in the 1960s and 1970s due toher athletes' commendable performances in the middle and long distance races has beengradually on a nose-dive. Athletes from other countries such as Morocco and Ethiopia havebecome constant challengers to the Kenyans. The national soccer team, Harambee Stars, hasnever qualified for the Olympics has never stretched beyond the preliminary round of the games.The country's performance in international competitions in events like boxing, wrestling, hockey,basketball, swimming, gymnastics and the so-called minor sports at all levels has been dismal. Itis in the light of this that the present paper delves into presenting managerial and technicalstrategies that are cruciaL to the development of sport in Kenya.Key Words: Sport, Athletes, International competition (s)

INTRODUCTION

Sporting actrvities attract billions ofparticipants and spectators all over the world(Reilly, 1996; Skogvang etal, 2000). This isbecause sports make substantial contributionto the socio-economic, political and culturaldevelopment of a country (McPherson et ai,1989; Mwisukha et aI., 2003). Success insport by a country, for instance, generatesfeelings of national pride and superiority. Ithelps in bringing about a sense of nationalidentity and in popularizing the name of thecountry. Mass sport is important inenhancing the health of the general public,thereby, making them more productive andat the same time, reducing expenditure onhealthcare. It pulls people together andhence, provides opportunity for socializationand national integration (Coakley, 1990).Many countries of the world have therefore,taken keen interest in developing sport so asto enable people enjoy the inherent benefitsof the activity. This phenomenon has madesport become a highly competitive activity.Consequently, most of the countries have

continuously put in place strategies ofpromoting and developing sports. Kenya. forinstance, needs concrete and firmmanagerial and technical strategies to enableher achieve remarkable success in sports.

Sport is one of the most popular activities inKenya. It is embraced due to its contributiontowards social, cultural, economic andpolitical development of the country(Mwisukha et aI., 2(03). As such, thegovernment has put in place managementand administrative structures to oversee therunning and development of sportingactivities in the country through the ministryin charge of sports. Currently, the Ministryof Gender, Sports, Culture and SocialServices is charged with the responsibility ofsports policy formulation and facilitation. Inaddition, the Kenya National SportsCouncil, which was established through theSocieties Act CAP 108 in 1966, is theumbrella organisation that coordinates theactivities of all the national sportsfederations and organizations, and also actsas an advisory body to the government on

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matters of sports. In spite of the existenceand operations of these management andadministrative structures, the sports scene inKenya continues to face a myriad ofproblems and challenges. For instance,according to Munayi (2000) little has beenheard from Kenya National Sports Councilover the years and the body seems to havesettled to particularly resolving andmanaging conflicts in the various sportsfederations with little success, and at theexpense of sports development. Thegovernment department of sports is on theother hand managed by a substantial numberof personnel who have no specific trainingin matters of sports (Munayi, 2000). Theother problems and challenges that facesports development in Kenya areenumerated below:(i) The country has not been able to

host or made a bid to host the majorinternational sports competitionssuch as the World Cup, OlympicGames, Commonwealth Games orthe World AthleticsChampionships.

(ii) Kenya's performance in some ofthe major : international sportscompetitions has been dismal.Though soccer is the country'smost popular sport, the nationalsoccer team has never qualified forthe soccer World Cup. The glorythat the country enjoyed in the1960s and 1970s as Africa'sChampion in track events has beentaking a nose-dive over the years.The country faces stiff challengesfrom the other African countriessuch as Ethiopia, Morocco andNigeria.

(iii) The country's performance in thefield events has been extremel yunimpressive. No single Kenyanathlete has ever won a medal in thefield events at the WorldChampionships and at the OlympicGames.

(iv) Women's sports participation andperformance has not beencommendable. There is genderimbalance in women's sportsparticipation, performance andleadership (Simiyu et al., 2003).

(v) The country has got very limitednumber of developed stadia and

other sports facilities: there areonly two stadia of internationalstandard in the country.

(vi) Persistent wrangles in the nationalsports federations have been·common phenomena. The wrangleshave not created a conduciveenvironment for the developmentof sports.

(vii) A substantial number ofoutstanding Kenyan' athletes andrunners have been relocating toother foreign countries and evenchanging their citizenship. This isan indicator that the sportingenvironment in Kenya is notfavourable for quite a number ofathletes.

(viii) Complaints about inadequate orlack of funding for national teamshave not been uncommon. Lack ofadequate funds by various nationalsports federations has been animpediment to the national teams'international exposure in terms ofparticipating in build-upcompetitions.

(ix) There have been frequentcomplaints of bias and unfairnessin the procedures used to selectnational teams to represent thecountry in internationalcompeti tions.

From the foregoing, it is evident th:t theneed for the creation of a conduciveenvironment for the promotion of sports inKenya is imperative. This responsibility liessquarely with the ministry incharge ofsports, the various sports federations andorganizations, the corporate sector and allother stakeholders in matters of sports. Themanagerial and technical strategies that aretherefore crucial to the development ofsports in the country are presented below.

Formulation and Implementation of aNational Sports PolicyThere is need to formulate a national sportspolicy that will be used to guide thedevelopment of sports in the country. Atthe moment, such a policy does not exist inspite of the efforts that the government hasmade for a long time towards this direction.Shehu 11995) contends that countries thathave produced sports policy such as Nigeria,

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South Africa and Zimbabwe seem to havemade a major impact in various sportsacross board.

Professional Management of SportsA professional approach in the managementof sports in the country is another importantfactor that will contribute to thedevelopment of sports. Sports have becomehighly competitive and it is important thatthey are managed by people who have thenecessary expertise in the field (Beashel &Taylor, 1992). The various sportsfederations, organizations and thegovernment department of sports should berun by professionals. This implies that theappointment of government sports managersshould be based on their professionalqualifications. The constitutions of thevarious sports federations and organizationsneed to be reviewed so as to makeprovisions for the election of sports officialswho have relevant training in the technicaland or managerial areas of sports.

.,( /Training of Sports Personnel

. ,.,/I- The country needs a sound and well-established programme for the training ofthe necessary manpower in sports (Chom,2(03). This will alleviate the shortage ofmanpower that is experienced in the runningof the various sports programmes. Thereliance on the services of foreigners in thetraining of sports personnel such as coachesand sports managers is not only expensivebut also denies the local people theopportunities of providing the necessaryleadership in sports. Just as professionalareas such as teaching and medicine haveinstitutions where the professionals aretrained, there is need to establish a nationaltraining institute or academy to coordinatethe training of coaches, sports referees, sportadministrators and managers, sportspsychologists, sports medicine personnel,sports nutritionists, physiotherapists andmasseurs. Any such institution of trainingshould be affiliated to the variousinternational sports federations andorganizations so that their trainingprogrammes are legitimized and recognizedacross the world (Reilly, 1996).

nding of Sports ProgrammesAvailability of finances for the running,development and promotion of sports is

arguably regarded as the most importantingredients of sporting success (Baumann,2(03). There is no doubt that adequatefunding is essential to the provision ofplayers with first class sports services,facilities, equipment, technical andmanagement personnel, technicaldevelopment and the necessary externalexposure (Baumann, 2(03). Hence, variousways and means of raising adequate funds tomeet the cost of running sports activitiesmust be explored. Since the government is amajor stakeholder in the facilitation andprovision of sports services, it should makeadequate provisions for sports funds in theannual national budgets. Corporatesponsorships also constitute a major sourceof funds for sports activities (Beashel &Taylor, 1992; Smith, 2000). The fact thatsports events attract many enthusiasts makeit possible for commercial organizations touse them in advertisements of their goodsand services. The colossal sums of moneyinjected by the commercial organizationsinto such advertisements in turn becomesavailable for the development of sports .•Other avenues through which sportsorganizations can raise funds for sportsactivities include use of raffles and fund-raising drives. To ensure proper utilizationof available funds for sports development,the government, which is the custodian ofpublic funds, should put in place transparentfinancial monitoring and auditingmachineries so that the funds are notembezzled or misappropriated.

.~lent Identification and Development1<:enya needs to put in place suitable andeffective procedures for sports talentidentification and development. Such sportstalent can easily be identified amongst theyouth. Sports federations and technicalpersonnel in sports need therefore, to set upYouth Centres (or Centres of SportsExcellence) where sports talent among theyoung persons can be identified andnurtured. Such centers of sports excellencecan be set up in institutions of learning or assections within the various national sportsfederations, which should be run under theguidance of technically qualified coaches.The Youth Centres will serve as reservoirsfrom which athletes can be selected forinternational competitions.

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Development of Sports Facilities VThe extent to which sports facilities areprovided in a country is a determining factorof the potential of success in sports (Clerk &Madden, 1995). Adequate facilities arerequired in terms of numbers, quality andsize to enable people participate in sportingactivities in large numbers. A country canonly bid for the hosting of majorinternational competitions such as the soccerWorld Cup, Olympic Games andCommonwealth Games if it has quality andadequate number of facilities for suchevents. However, Njororai et al (2005) havereported the inadequacy of spots facilitiessuch as stadia, gymnasiums and swimmingpools in Kenya. The government therefore,should not only make budgetary provisionsfor the development of modem facilities butalso seek for the involvement of thecountry's development partners in theimprovement and development of the sportsfacilities. Just as the case obtains incountries that are known for success insports such as Britain, United States ofAmerica, Germany and many others, thecorporate sector should be involved in thedevelopment of the required facilities.

Streamlining Selection Procedures for 0/Athletes and TeamsThe controversies that commonly arise overthe selection of athletes and teams forinternational assignments can be minimizedif the national sports federations canformulate sound criteria, procedures andformats for such selections. Arising from therelatively high competitive level of sports inthe world, it is imperative that proceduresand modes applied in the selection ofcompetition teams are carefully examined.The selection processes of sports teams andindividuals are technical in nature, requiringthe involvement and efforts of suitablyqualified technical personnel: coaches,trainer, sports psychologists and sportsmanagers (Cox, 1994). Physical,physiological, psycho-social, historical andtechnical/tactical factors should beconsidered in the selection of sports

. competitors (Mwisukha et al., 2(03).

/Sports ProfessionalismThe national sports federations in Kenyashould seriously consider introducing andnurturing professionalism in sports. Many

countries in the developed world have madea tremendous shift from sports amateurismto professionalism (Beashel & Taylor,1992). Kenyan athletes need to be accordedopportunities to earn their living from theirpursuit of competitive rts. This is theonly way through whi h~ sportsmen andsportswomen can comr..tiit most of their timeand energies on acti vr s to achieve successrather than abandoning them to pursue otherincome-generating activities.

Diversification of Sporting Activities V""The main objective of every athlete andcountry that take part in the majorinternational competitions such as theOlympic Games, Commonwealth Games,Soccer World Cup and others is to win so asto earn medals,' honour and other benefitsenjoyed by the winners. Consequently, theinterest of counties in entering as manyathletes in a~ many sports disciplines aspossible has been on the increase. There isneed therefore, for Kenya to diversify intothe so-called minor sports as to increase thechances of winning many medals in thevarious international competitions. Themany other sports disciplines in which thecountry has the potential to excel includeyachting, archery, shooting, weightlifting,wrestling and most of the martial arts.

.,M"otivation of AthletesThe morale of sportsmen and sportswomencan be enhanced if they are suitably andadequately rewarded whenever they registervictories in competitions. This makes itnecessary for the various sports federations,government and corporate sector to establishspecific ways of providing incentives toathletes who excel in internationalcompetitions. Such provision of incentiveswill not only motivate athletes to strive forexemplary performance but also discouragethe best local athletes from seeking foreigncitizenship in countries where their athleticachievements are adequately rewarded. Bothmaterial- and non-material incentives arenecessary.

Role of Mass MediaThe mass media has a fundamental role toplay in the development of sports (Munayi,2(03). It is an important tool for passinginformation, bringing talent into thelimelight and creating sports heroes.

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Appearance of an athlete in the mass mediamay accord himlher credibility and a senseof achievement. Through the mass media,the potential of sportsmen and sportswomencan be marketed. The various sportsfederations, or izations and the ministryincharge of, s therefore, need tocultivate a clos nd conducive workingrelationship with mass media for the»0.promotion of sports. 1.1e sports managementagencies should involve the mass media ineducating people about sports, providingadequate and fair coverage of sportsfunctions and personalities.

ConclusionThe formulation and implementation ofvarious strategies for the development ofsports require joint involvement of allstakeholders in matters of sports in Kenya.There is need for the country to keep pacewith the ever changing and challengingsports scene. This is only possible withregular review of policies, practices andprocedures that are crucial to thedevelopment of sports.

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