This archive report was first published on 18 October 2019.
Kenya's sports federations are in a dire situation, with many teams struggling to prepare for international competitions due to a severe funding crisis.
According to reports, the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts has been accused of neglecting national teams, leading to a cash crunch that is stretching sports federations to breaking point.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had earlier this year urged the board of the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund to expedite funding of teams to ensure they thrive.
However, despite the President's directive, sports federations claim that they have not received adequate funding for their teams.
For instance, the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) CEO Sylvia Kamau revealed that they had sent a budget of Sh194 million for the Shujaas, Lionesses, and Simbas teams, but they have only received a paltry Sh3.3 million.
"We followed due process when we sent a budget, but to date, we have only received a paltry Sh3.3 million," Kamau said.
Similarly, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa stated that they had not received any more funding from the Government after Afcon 2019, despite getting Sh240 million to prepare for the tournament.
"We followed all proper channels to request for cash for Chan 2020 qualifiers, Starlets' Olympic qualifiers, upcoming Afcon 2021 qualifiers, and also the upcoming Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup but received no cent," Mwendwa told Nation Sport.
With at least eight months to the 2020 IAAF World U-20 championship set for Nairobi, Athletics Kenya is also crying foul, with AK Nairobi branch chairman and director in charge of Youth and Development Barnaba Korir stating that a Sh81 million budget was sent in good time but no response was forthcoming.
