This archive report was first published on 12 August 2019.
On Sunday, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) distributed the first batch of uniforms to teams participating in the African Games, scheduled to take place in Morocco from August 19-31.
According to NOCK, teams will begin departing from Kenya on Monday, with the National Women's volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, set to travel on Tuesday morning.
NOCK acting Secretary General Francis Mutuku explained that the athletics team would receive their uniforms at a later date due to their large number, while the Canoeing and Rowing federations had yet to confirm their teams.
“Today we have issued uniforms to teams as some of them depart beginning tomorrow. This time round we handed over the uniforms in open because we want to be transparent and fair to each and every federation,” said Mutuku.
The government is fully sponsoring the Kenyan teams, with a total of 290 athletes participating in 22 disciplines. The National Sports Fund has been instrumental in making this possible, according to Games Chief Executive Officer Charles Nyaberi.
“Everything has gone according to plan as teams have been in camp for the past two weeks with the government catering for everything. This has been possible through the National Sports Fund,” said Nyaberi.
Head coach of the National Women's volleyball team, Paul Bitok, expressed confidence in his team's ability to defend their title in Morocco.
“I have trained the team for the last week and the morale in the squad is very high. We will do anything to defend our title in Morocco,” said Bitok.
The African Games will be held in four Moroccan cities: Rabat, Casablanca, El Jadida, and Khemisset.
