• Across Africa, China has already constructed or with their help built 52 stadia leading to what has been termed as China’s stadium diplomacy.
• President Uhuru Kenyatta and his then deputy William Ruto in 2013 election campaign promised at least nine new stadia in the country.
Image: FILE
Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries hosted the Belt and Road China-Africa Diplomacy Forum on May 20.
Among the invited guests from African states were diplomats from Guinea, Madagascar, Morocco as well as the African Mission Football Dream Team in China.
As you would expect, Ambassadors Aminata Koita (Guinea) and Robinson Jean Louis (Madagascar) as well as Mohammed el-Bakari, minister, embassy of Morocco, spoke highly of the close relations with China, including in sports and the available opportunities.
While Kenya ties and China have had close relations since President Daniel Moi came to power, this relationship has widely been economic and infrastructural.
What about sports?
Kenya is internationally known as an athletic powerhouse, particularly in long and middle races.
Its athletes are often referred as Kenyan ambassadors abroad as they present the country's image, which is in line with the vision of Kenya's Foreign Policy document (2014), with the objective of "projecting Kenya’s image and prestige".
Sports is also well captured in Kenya's Foreign Policy under the cultural pillar with the objective to: "Promote sports and art diplomacy by recognizing the role of Kenyan artists, athletes and other sportsmen and women".
Sports diplomacy
Diplomacy is in general statements and contacts by states, individuals, societies, communities, policymakers to realise favourable picture of the country and eventually accomplish foreign policy objectives.
Sports diplomacy is thus using sports for improvement of inter-state engagements that in one way or the other then improve diplomatic relations. By means of sports, the state's image may be modified in the eye of the international public.
But these engagements go beyond the sports events themselves to involve cooperation and partnerships in improving the sports and the facilities.
Stadia
While Thika Superhighway is largely seen as the first huge project by the Chinese, it was actually the Moi International Sports Stadium -Kasarani in Nairobi in 1986 in the run up to the fourth All-Africa Games that opened Beijing-Nairobi infrastructure cooperation.
Under President Uhuru Kenyatta's (2013-2022) Jubilee administration, the $12.5 million refurbishment contract for the stadium was awarded to China's Sheng Li Engineering Construction Company and funded by the Chinese government.
Equipment and seats used in refurbishing the Nyayo National Stadium, the oldest international facility, were acquired from China.
Across Africa, China has already constructed or with their help built 52 stadia in, among other cities, Algiers, Maputo, Dar es Salaam, Accra, Libreville and Conakry in what has been termed as China’s stadium diplomacy.
The construction of the Kasarani stadium not only helped Kenya to have the all-needed international required facility but also opened the doors for infrastructure cooperation that intensified from 2002. It has also served the state's diplomatic policies and recipient countries' economic and facilities demand.
It is thus recalled that President Kenyatta and his then deputy William Ruto (now President) in their 2013 election campaign promised at least nine new stadia in the country and the refurbishment of all existing facilities.
Having not delivered this pledge in the first term, they re-committed in their re-election in 2017.
"In six months’ time the stadium in Wote will be complete. In three month’s time the stadium in Chuka will be complete. In three month’s time the stadium in Moyale will be complete. The stadium in Kamariny in West Pokot which is historic will be complete," Ruto said during the presidential re-election bid incidentally in the Kasarani stadium arena.
This promise remains largely unmet, with many of the projects abandoned, even as Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba saying golf courses in public schools should open up the game to non-elite players.
Many facilities remain in bad shape, some reduced to gracing fields.
With Ruto as President, he could reach out to China and its construction companies to build not only the stadiums but other sports facilities across the country.
Learning from Kenyan athletes
In return, Kenya could continue offering lessons and support to Chinese athletes.
In 2014, ahead of the 2015 World Athletics in Beijing, 16 members of China’s national women’s middle- and long-distance running team went to Iten, in the Rift Valley, for a six-week training stint.
Another Chinese athlete who has trained in Iten is Zhang Xinyan, who visited in April 2018 to participate in a month-long training inside and outside Eldoret and Iten towns. The middle-distance runner from northwest China's Gansu province had competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
In 2022, China's men's marathon team travelled to Kenya to train with world record holder Eliud Kipchoge and his teammates ahead of the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
Thirteen athletes from the Chinese team, including Dong Guojian, Yang Shaohui and Peng Jianhua, who attended the athletics worlds in Oregon, US, participated in the training.
"The Chinese athletes are like our brothers. I look forward to more cooperation in long-distance running between China and Kenya.
"I believe more and more Chinese runners are appearing in international marathons," half marathon champion Gideon Kipchirchir told Xinhua.
Promotion of martial arts
At the grassroots, China is also promoting and supporting sports that are associated with China such as Kungfu.
On May 6 this year, the second edition of the Kenya Kungfu Championship was in Kiambu county. The event was hosted by Kenya Kungfu Federation and supported by the Chinese Embassy.
Some 13 clubs and 70 competitors took part in the tournament; the youngest contestant was only four years old, according to the embassy.
According to Ngaruiya Njonge, chairman of Kenya Kungfu Federation, an estimated 3,000 Kenyans now actively participate in the sport.
Kungfu has thus become a bridge of cultural exchange between Kenya and China.
As Kipchirchir notes, sports is another corridor of boosting Chin-Kenya people to people relations, an area where both people will draw mutual benefits. Why not exploit it?