Africa-Press – Kenya. National Olympic Committee of Kenya secretary-general Francis Mutuku has advised administrators of youthful sports disciplines to put their houses in order if they are to realise their dream of making it to the Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee in December last year announced that breakdancing, skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing will now feature at the quadrennial games, beginning with the next edition in Paris in 2024.
Mutuku called upon local administrators of these disciplines to work closely with NOC-K in order to nurture talents that are emerging each and every day.
“We are calling on the administrators of these sports to come up and put the interests of the players first. We know these players are young and ambitious and want to do the best,” he said.
Mutuku added: “We are hoping to have a team at the next Olympics but the training and qualification process starts now. Let’s work together so that by the time Paris 2024 comes, we will have a youthful Team Kenya.”
He further admitted it will be difficult for NOC-K to help in nurturing such young talents when administrators keep squabbling among themselves.
“Leadership is all about service and if anyone claims to be an administrator, we want to see what they are serving. If your interest as an administrator is the welfare of sportspersons, then there should not be any differences among you,” Mutuku said.
He added: “It is very unfortunate to see these differences in a new sport that many people are excited about and are looking forward to competing in. This sort of slows down the progress of the sport.”
The secretary-general applauded IOC’s decision to embrace these youthful sports and described the disciplines as another avenue for young people to fulfill their potential and put their energy to good use.
“We as NOC-K are fully supportive of this programme by IOC. First, because we need to engage the youth. They are nowadays coming up with inventive ways to occupy their time and express themselves. These sports are cognisant of that youthfulness…energy which needs to be employed,” he said.
He was speaking in Naivasha over the weekend on the sidelines of the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya mental health workshop at Hylise Hotel.
During the two-day seminar, Mutuku also took participants through the committee’s eight-point legacy project that is anchored on the use of sports science to prepare athletes for major assignments.
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