\u201cI am just at home, staying indoors with nothing much to do, the suspension of the Kenya Women\u2019s Premier League is taking a toll on us\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
These are the words of Makolanders\u2019s FC\u2019s Mary Wanjiku as the dreadful coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the globe.<\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s sentiments are shared by many sportspeople across the country, who have been forced to temporarily hang their \u2018boots\u2019.<\/p>\n
Last week Football Federation of Kenya(FKF) suspended action across the country as a measure to curb the spread of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a precautionary measure, there will be no pre- and post-match handshakes in the said fixtures and fans will not be allowed in and around the stadium,\u201d read part of FKF statement signed by CEO Barry Otieno.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther, FKF advises all clubs, both at the national and grass-root level to cancel and\/or suspend non-essential activities that include but are not limited to open training sessions, unplanned fan engagements and the unnecessary team travels.\u201d<\/p>\n
The suspension of the league came a day after FKF had written to Confederation of African Football (CAF) to request the postponement of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers pitting Kenya vs Comoros.<\/p>\n
The postponement request was granted after CAF issued a statement to postpone all qualifier matches due to the virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cCAF has decided to postpone the Total Africa Cup of Nations 2021 Qualifiers, scheduled from 25 to 31 March 2020,\u201d read part of CAF\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not only footballers that are feeling the impact of the suspension. Kenyan athletes have also decried the cancellation or postponement of running events.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have suffered as athletes because we have no other sources of income. Race organisers are cancelling races, it is tough for me to train alone since a majority of athletes have left our training camp,\u201d said Lawrence Cherono, the Boston 2019 Marathon winner.<\/p>\n
Cherono\u2019s sentiments are justified having in mind that late February to early May is the \u2018harvesting\u2019 period for athletes competing in half and full marathons.<\/p>\n
KCB\u2019s rugby player Martin Owila told\u00a0Game Yetu\u00a0that the suspension of the games has forced them to sit at home with no training whatsoever.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am just indoors; we are not training because there are no matches to be played. As a club, we are waiting for a way forward from the club officials,\u201d the high flying flanker told\u00a0Game Yetu.<\/p>\n
Kenya Rugby Union last week postponed the 2019\/2020 season, Kenya Cup Championship, nationwide leagues and the Eric Shirley Shield.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn light of ongoing developments resulting from the announcement of an active COVID 19 case in the country, and the directive from the Health Ministry that, among other things, bans public gatherings, the Kenya Rugby Union is announcing the suspension of the 2019-20 season,\u201d KRU said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The unavailability of competitions means that the players will have to survive the coming days without playing allowances, according to Wanjiru.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are no matches, then we don\u2019t get anything for allowances, we have to bear with the prevailing circumstances and hope everything will get back to normal\u201d, Wanjiru said.<\/p>\n
A few days ago, Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed issued a new directive that all public sporting facilities will be closed for use for the next 30 days.<\/p>\n
She urged all Sportspersons, including coaches, who have travelled outside the country in the past\u00a014 days, to self-quarantine for 14 days.<\/p>\n
World Athletics Continental Tour,\u00a02020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, World Athletics Under 20 and World\u00a0Rally Championship Safari Rally Kenya, the organising committee were informed to set up virtual\u00a0meeting tools as they prepare for these events.<\/p>\n
Her latest directive signalled a total lockdown of all sporting activities in the countries, as the government fights to control the spread of Covid-19 virus.<\/p>\n
For Wanjiku, Cherono and Owila, their prayer is that the Covid-19 is contained soon enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cI am just at home, staying indoors with nothing much to do, the suspension of the Kenya Women\u2019s Premier League is taking a toll on us\u2026\u201d These are the words of Makolanders\u2019s FC\u2019s Mary Wanjiku as the dreadful coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the globe. Mary\u2019s sentiments are shared by many sportspeople across the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,2111,8,17],"tags":[2359,828,2358,2357,2360],"class_list":["post-4392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-coronavirus-in-kenya","category-homepage-english","category-sport","tag-caf","tag-fkf","tag-lawrence-cherono","tag-martin-owila","tag-mary-wanjiru"],"yoast_head":"\n