Brazzaville-bound athletes skip training in Kasarani over unpaid allowances

All Africa Games team members during their training session. [PHOTO:DENNIS OKEYO/STANDARD]

Only three days after the 2015 All Africa Games began in Congo Brazzaville, Kenyan athletes in camp are a demoralised lot.

The athletes, who boycotted training yesterday over unpaid allowances, also blamed the Government and National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Noc-K) for neglecting them even as they prepare to leave for Congo Brazzaville tomorrow.

FeverPitch has learnt that the athletes are yet to receive their allowances since the Finance ministry is yet to release the funds or training kits, even to those already competing in Brazzaville. However, the team has received ceremonial attire without shoes.

“The team’s morale is pretty low, we have families back home that depend on us. We have been here in camp for the past 18 days and we are yet to receive even our local allowances,” an athlete who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation told FeverPitch at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium, yesterday.

“We are told even those already competing in Brazzaville are yet to receive both their local and foreign allowances,” added the dejected athlete. Another athlete at Kasarani said: “At the moment, we are not even aware of the allowance rates because we have neither got any communication from Noc-K nor the Sports ministry. Today (yesterday) most athletes boycotted their training session protesting over unpaid allowances.”

The team, which has been in the residential camp at Moi International Sports Centre for the past 18 days, claim they have had inadequate preparations for the continental games.

This comes after Kenya registered a sterling performance in the just-concluded International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) World Championships in Beijing, China, where the country emerged on top of the world for the first time, with seven gold medals, six silver and three bronze.

Kenya has sent a contingent of over 300 athletes and officials in 17 disciplines that includes athletics, badminton, boxing (men), cycling, handball, judo, karate, lawn tennis, rugby sevens (men), swimming, table tennis, tae-kwon-do, volleyball (women), beach volleyball, weight lifting, wrestling and Paralympics sports (men and women) officials to the games which kicked off last Friday.

Kenya aims to surpass the 2011 All Africa Games performance In Maputo, Mozambique, where the country scooped 50 medals - 14 gold, 14 silver and 22 bronze with a sixth table finish.