Amina advocates for more awareness on sports arbitration

Cabinet Secretary for Sports Amb. Amina Mohamed (left) and 400m Hurdles World champion and Female Athlete of the Year Dalilah Mohamed during the World Athletics Gala in Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Saturday, November 23, 2019. [Robin Toskin]

Sports Cabinet Amina Mohamed says there is need for a strategic approach in a bid to promote sports arbitration in Africa.  

The CS spoke while she presided over the annual conference on promoting sports arbitration in Africa in Nairobi. The event is organized by Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a forum that brings together sports practitioners, arbitrators and institutions that promote sports development.

It also provided a forum for understanding disputes in sports administration and management, misconduct and how to address such cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution in resolving disputes.

“A strategic approach is required to promote arbitration and build trust in its effectiveness. Publicity and education are needed to this end. It would also be very helpful to mainstream an arbitration provision in the dispute resolution clauses in the general contracts used in the sports industry,” she said.

Amina said: “The second priority is to fully constitute the office of the Registrar of Sports to deal with registration, elections and related issues presented by sports organizations. This dual approach will provide a safe ecosystem to address the challenges that confront us within the sector.”

The conference was used to raise awareness on opportunities in sport arbitration by creating an understanding of the nature of disputes in sports administration and management.

Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) was created in 1983 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and approved in 1994.

Kenya is one of the few countries in Africa that have established independent sports tribunal, where disputes are adjudicated upon outside the national court system.