Sitting volleyball: Kenya opts out of hosting Africa event at Kasarani

Dagoreti Sitting Volleyball team fight it out with Langata during Shebesh Tournament Cup at Kasarani sports centre on friday, Feb 17, 2017. {PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

Kenya has withdrawn its hosting rights for the Africa Sitting Volleyball Championship, which was scheduled for Kasarani on May 15-22.

This is after the Government declined to finance the event, citing financial constraints following Kenya’s bid to host the forthcoming IAAF World U-18 Championships in July and the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) early next year.

The Kenya Sitting Volleyball Federation (KSVF) needed Sh30 million to host the continental showpiece, which was to act as a qualifier for the World Cup scheduled for the Netherlands next year.

Ministry of Sports Director of Administration Harun Komen, in a letter addressed to the KSVF, stated:

“Further to your letter dated March 10, 2017, the Ministry of Sports has been overwhelmed with financial requests and currently is constrained by the World Athletics Under 18 Championships and Africa Nations Championships events and therefore we are unable to host other world events for now.”

The IAAF World U-18 Championships will be held between July 12-16 this year at Kasarani, which will also be one of the venues for the three-week 16-nation football tournament, CHAN, in January.

Dejected KSVF President Polycarp Mboya said the Government’s decision was disheartening.

“The event would have given our teams and players great exposure and Kenya’s qualification for World Cup would have been a plus as the struggling players would have had many windows of opportunity,” he said.

He added that the federation had campaigned hard for Kenya to be allowed to host the event.

Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Sudan, Lesotho, Namibia, Congo, Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, Burundi, Egypt, and Kenya had confirmed participation. [Eric Ochieng]