President William Ruto has
urged the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to uphold the pride of the country’s sportsmanship.
He expressed confidence in the
Federation’s current leadership, vouching for its integrity and asking it not to betray the trust placed in them.
“FKF is a
new team… we can vouch for their integrity. And please, Mr President, I’m
putting my name on the line, so you cannot let me down with your team,” Ruto stated, referring to FKF President Hussein Mohammed.
Speaking during a stakeholders’
forum on the future of sports on Wednesday, he called for a collective,
inclusive approach to developing the country’s sports sector.
He said past efforts have failed
because they were either government-led or controlled by the Football Kenya
Federation (FKF), leaving other stakeholders on the sidelines.
“In the
past, the mistake we have tried to do is to make it government or sometimes
make it FKF, then everybody else becomes an appendage,” Ruto said.
The President emphasised that the
new direction must be a shared effort involving government, FKF and the private
sector.
“From the
government of Kenya side, we are committed. We want to do this. We have a plan, but
we want that plan to be not our plan as government, but to be our collective
plan,” he said.
Ruto confirmed that the government
is already implementing key infrastructure projects, including a rollout of
major stadia, sports academies and smaller regional stadiums.
He said all is aimed at nurturing
talent and supporting grassroots sports.
Turning to the private sector, Ruto
acknowledged the ongoing financial contributions even amid uncertainty, but
said more structured collaboration was needed to make investment in sports more
secure and impactful.
“We do not
want you to put your money in a space that you are not too sure of. We want to
agree together and fashion this space around sports together, because it is an
important space,” he said.
Highlighting the country’s
international sporting reputation, especially in athletics, Ruto said it would
be a mistake to allow the country’s talent to go to waste due to poor
coordination or underinvestment.
“We are a
sporting nation. We have enormous talent in almost everything… we must not
allow the obvious opportunity that is there in the sports space to dissipate
merely because either the government is not doing enough, or FKF is not organised,
and therefore the private sector cannot find space,” he said.
Later in the day, Ruto will flag off
the national team heading to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The president expressed optimism that the athletes would bring home multiple medals.
