Sports, like any other sector in the country, is grappling with a depressed economy, and Nondies RFC chairman Auka Gecheo says this is shaking all corners of the fraternity.
“The current economic climate had made things very tough for everyone, and sports does not operate in isolation. We have also been affected,” he said.
Gecheo, who had a stint with Mean Machine in the late 90s and later with Nondies, said Kenya Cup clubs are finding it hard to cope, with the exception of Kabras and KCB.
“It’s very difficult, especially for the self-supporting clubs like ourselves, Impala, Quins and Mwamba. We are very much on a shoestring budget during the season,” he said.
Gecheo said the popular Safari Sevens, which used to attract thousands of fans, has become a pale shadow of itself, with the event making losses in the last five years.
“This used to be the cash cow for sports. We made a profit in 2009, but look at it today, it doesn’t resonate well with the fans,” he said.
From a high of 8,000-10,000 fans between 1996 and 2010 attending the tournament, the numbers have dipped in the last five years to less then 2,000 — a worrying trend for Africa’s flagship sevens tournament.
Gecheo said sponsors have become cagey with their money. “It has to be win-win for them, too. The product you give them has to be attractive, and they must benefit,” he said.
FUNDING WOES
The Sport Fund, if operationalised, will be a boost to the local sports industry and help complement the role of corporates in the country, Gecheo said.
“I have heard of the figures being thrown around, and can you imagine 100 or 200 million for rugby or football? It will be big boost,” he said.
The Nondies chair said the sport needs to cleanse itself of the bad image portrayed in the last couple of years to make it attractive to sponsors again.
“We have directors abusing sponsors and players blacking out sponsors’ logo, so there are a few in-house matters the sport must do before we engage sponsors to fund the game,” he said.
Gecheo said the union has made bad decisions both in the short and long term.
“A couple of years ago, we had acquired land adjacent to the RFUEA ground (Ligi Ndogo) to build a stadium, but there was change of guard at the union and they sold the land,” he said.
He doubted next month’s KRU elections will solve the problems, but said it can be a start. “Hopefully, those elected can clean the game up and help us improve on governance and leadership of the game,” Gecheo said.
The Kenya Cup clubs chairmen, he said, have to interrogate themselves and ask hard questions on management of players. “As custodians of the game, I believe we need to improve ourselves on certain aspects of the game like player discipline, mentorship, and helping our players become better than what they are today,” he said.