Cote d’Ivoire are expected to field two teams as the 22nd Federation of East African Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games kick off in Kakamega today.
The West Africans have a contingent of 18 players, who will feature in boys’ handball and athletics.
They are the second nation outside East Africa to feature at the games after Malawi’s boys’ football team graced the 2019 edition held in Arusha, Tanzania. They bowed out in the first round.
The organisers revealed the Ivorians were invited for the championships after showing interest alongside Nigeria.
However, Nigeria did not confirm their attendance by the time of the draw of lots.
Meanwhile, the official opening ceremony, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been rescheduled for Friday, while events pencilled for Friday have been brought forward by a day.
President William Ruto is expected to preside over the opening ceremony. Kenya will seek to reclaim the overall title they last won in 2018 in Musanze, Rwanda. Team Kenya have 16 overall titles from a possible 21.
Teams from Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda are already in Kakamega for the 10-day, 19-discipline festival. More than 3, 000 participants are enlisted.
Uganda are the overall defending champions after dominating the 2024 home games in Mbale.
The teams will compete in football, volleyball, handball, hockey, athletics, rugby 15s and 7s, lawn tennis, table tennis, badminton, swimming, netball, basketball 5x5 and 3x3, chess, and scrabble.
Chess and scrabble are debuting at the games, while beach football, beach volleyball, lacrosse, and cricket will be played as demonstration sports, according to FEASSSA secretary general David Ngugi.
Girls’ rugby 7s will be played for the second time after making its debut in Mbale, where Kenya’s St Joseph’s Girls’ Kitale lifted the trophy.
Football will be staged at Bukhungu Stadium, Mukumu High School, Kakamega High School, and Kakamega Rehabilitation Centre.
Masinde Murilo University of Science and Technology (MMUST) will host volleyball, hockey, handball, netball, table tennis, cricket, chess, scrabble and tennis.
Swimming will be held at St Peter’s Mumias Primary, while Bukhungu Stadium will host athletics. Kakamega High School will host lacrosse and 3x3 basketball.
Kakamega Police Canteen will stage basketball 5x5, while rugby 15s and 7s will be held at the Bull Ring. Primary school games will be held at Musingu High School.
Kenya will hope to reclaim the boys’ football title, last won by Barding High in 2016 in Eldoret. National champions St Joseph’s Boys’ Kitale, Musingu High, Agai Mixed and Highway Secondary will carry Kenya’s flag in the contest.
St Anthony’s Kitale are the other Kenyan team to win the regional football title, in 2002. Ugandan powerhouses, St Mary’s Kitende, have won the title 14 times.
The Head of the Directorate of Field Coordination and co-curricular activities at the Ministry of Education, Nelson Sifuna, who flagged off Team Kenya on Monday, challenged them to reclaim the overall title.
