This archive report was first published on 1 July 2019.
Published on July 1, 2019, a day after Kenya's rugby team, Chipu, was set to head to Brazil for the World Junior Trophy championship, a World Rugby tournament.
Kenya Rugby Union held a fundraising dinner at Peponi School, targeting Ksh 8 million but only raised Ksh 1.2 million, according to CEO Sylvia Kamau.
Head coach Paul Odera expressed concerns that the team did not meet their target, which might affect the players' ability to leave for international duty.
Kenya Rugby Union has been in talks with the government, which is expected to decide on Chipu's funding today. Meanwhile, some sponsors have pledged to contribute to the team's ability.
"We hope the government will come in to help us, we believe that if they will be able to give us one to two million together with the sponsors who have pledged to come in, we will be good to go," said Odera.
However, this has raised concerns with the rugby team's funding crisis, especially when compared to the Ksh 5 million allowance received by 20 Kenyan MPs in Egypt for the African Cup of Nations.
The MPs' 10-day stay in Egypt will cost the taxpayer Ksh 5 million, while the rugby team continues to struggle in Nairobi.
On March 10, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that from 2019, the government would fund all national teams fully.
Despite this, the Kenya Rugby Union is still facing challenges in funding its teams, with the senior team, Kenya Simbas, set to head to Uganda for the Elgon Cup return leg by bus due to financial constraints.
