Africa-Press – Kenya. The National Olympic Committee of Kenya has admitted that the Infrastructure and environment in the country are not conducive for international competitions.
Secretary General, Francis Mutuku, said this is despite athletics being one of the sports that has put the country in the limelight internationally.
“It’s unfortunate that some of our top athletes’ first use of international infrastructure was at the top level competition while in other countries these are facilities introduced to them from the onset,” Mutuku says.
Mutuku insisted that the country’s infrastructure needs to be upgraded to accommodate Kenyan athletes considering that sports are now big business.
Mutuku said their last Olympics was an eye-opener and as an association, their main focus is to make athletes view the Olympics as a process and not an event.
“We learned in our last Olympics that we have to change a number of things we do before the Olympics,” says Mutuku.
Mutuku revealed that many athletes fail to qualify through qualification rounds due to the country’s poor infrastructure and environment. He also noted that most athletes begin the qualification process late.
Mutuku said it will be prudent to enter a training partnership with France considering they will host the 2024 Olympic Games. He said such a deal will help the team work on their weaknesses
He paid tribute to Mirama City in France for agreeing to enter a partnership with them. He said Nock’s plan is to have early training in France weeks prior to the Olympic Games.
“ We’ve had visits to Miramas, in the southern part of France and we are really happy that they have considered our request,” Mutuku said
He hopes the partnership will offer technical support considering Miramas has employed top-level coaches whose experience is highly needed by the Kenyan coaches.
NOCK secretary-general believes having an exchange program among the youth teams will help them in sharpening their skills and exchange ideas with their opponents from various countries.
He clarified that the training doesn’t only apply to athletes but to all sports in general.
For More News And Analysis About Kenya Follow Africa-Press
