The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) and the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) are at loggerheads over the composition of the Kenya Sevens rugby teams for the Olympic Games.
According to Nock, only three positions are available for members of the rugby technical bench.
Nock has also proposed that the coach of men’s team, Mr Benjamin Ayimba, should also handle the women’s team at the Olympics.
This has been rejected by the KRU which says both teams cannot be handled by one technical bench. To them this late action will be counterproductive — it would be synonymous with preparing the rugby teams for failure at the Olympics Games set to start in Rio di Janeiro, Brazil next month.
While it is Nock’s duty to determine the personnel to travel to represent Kenya in Rio, its work should not hurt the preparation of teams ahead of the Games.
This is the first time that Kenya has entered a rugby team to the Olympics, and the squad should be given every chance to give a good account of itself at the games. That cannot happen amid infighting just weeks before the games begin.
Unfortunately we have seen this kind of thing before and the result were appalling. Before the 2012 Olympics, athletes were forced to train in the English town of Bristol against the advice of experts, and the team’s performance was a colossal failure.
The issue of the rugby teams’ preparation must therefore be resolved in good time to allow the players to concentrate on training without the distraction of trying to guess who among the coaches will travel with them to Rio.
Nock cannot afford to be obdurate in this matter—Team Kenya must get all the necessary support to compete in the Olympics from August 5.
Even as this is going on, it is not too late in the day to ask the government and private firms to contribute additional funds for the team’s preparation. These funds could be serve as token for the sportsmen and women who excel at the games. We must recognise that our sports men and women are the country’s best ambassadors.
It would be a disgrace for deserving members of Team Kenya to be left behind because finances are lacking.
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