The National Olympic Committee of Kenya is hoping to use the Arrows for Peace initiative to identify and train archers with an eye at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
While on a visit of the organisation in Kajiado County, Mutuku said they will monitor the progress of the trainees with the potential archers being recommended to the National Archery Federation of Kenya.
This will be key in the national governing body's quest to increase the country's participation and medal prospects heading to Paris in two years.
Currently, Arrows for Peace is being used to further peace efforts among the warring communities in the Rift valley.
“In the long term, we want to identify talented archers in the grassroots and nurture them. Excellent archers will be recommended to the National Federation for specialised training,” Mutuku said.
He added they are also seeking the involvement of county governments, especially in organising local championships which will be key in giving the archers exposure and confidence.
“The idea is to have counties set up centres for training and buy equipment to support the archers and their trainers. We will lend a helping hand in terms of training and organising competitions,” he added.
He noted the biggest challenge at the moment is the acquisition of equipment, which he said is very expensive.
“Archery equipment is very expensive but I am positive that, with time, we will be able to acquire some and this will be a thing of the past," said Mutuku.
He added that they are hopeful of spreading the game throughout the country and allow give raw talents an opportunity to horn their skills.
“I hope that things will pick up in the counties and the federation will start training the players at the grassroots level. This will be a platform for them to expose the players and their trainers and get opportunities to participate in international championships,” he concluded.
