Guarantee security for U18 championships

The 10th edition of the International Armature Athletics Federation World U18 championships kicks off at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, Nairobi on Wednesday July 12, 2007 and ends on July 16, 2017.

Benefits accruing from successfully organising and hosting such a large-scale event cannot be gainsaid. First, it reaffirms Kenya’s position as an athletics powerhouse globally. Second, the large number of participants guarantees not just a boost for our economy, but our tourism industry as well, with over 2,000 from 159 countries expected to attend.

Getting it right and carrying it off successfully, being the first such event in Sub-Sahara Africa, is important. Stadia to be used and the villages where athletes will stay have been completed to international standards, but the success of the event hinges not just on good logistics, but more importantly on security.

It is perhaps for this reason that organisers of the event have moved with speed to reassure participants that the demise of Kenya’s Internal Security minister, Joseph Nkaissery, who personally oversaw security arrangements, will not jeopardise the games. Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario has assured all teams that their safety remains a priority.

To the Kenyan team we say, work hard and show the world how it is done.

It is from such junior events that world beaters like David Rudisha and Jamaican Usain Bolt emerged to dwarf others. Go for it, you too can.

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