The national boxing team, Hit Squad, will skip the upcoming Africa Boxing Championships in Yaounde, Cameroon owing to a dearth of funds.
Confirming the development in an interview on Tuesday, head coach Benjamin Musa expressed regrets, saying they had failed to secure the necessary funding from the government.
“We were preparing to travel to Cameroon for the tournament but judging by the financial situation in the country at the moment, our hands are tied,” Musa said.
“We can only talk assuredly about the team’s future once the government has read the budget,” Musa added.
The seasoned gaffer said they would now abandon their training camp at the Mathare depot in Nairobi, noting that there was little they could do to disentangle themselves from the unfortunate situation.
“We have released our national team players to return to their respective clubs, where they can continue honing their skills as they await direction,” Musa stated.
Musa, however, quickly added that they were hopeful of making a trip to Dakar, Senegal later in the year to battle for slots in the 2024 Paris Olympic games.
“Chances are high we will start participating in tournaments once the government announces its budget for the new financial year,” Musa said.
Musa bemoaned that Hit Squad had lost a glorious opportunity to emulate their performance at the 2022 championships in Maputo, Mozambique, where they wrapped up the competition with three silvers and a bronze.
“We were sure of five boxers making it to the medal bracket this time around,” Musa said.
“Besides, our boxers will also miss out on the huge prize purse that has been beefed up by the continental governing body,” he added.
The African Boxing Confederation has set aside a whopping $100,000 for gold medallists and $50,000 for runners-up. Third-placed boxers will walk away with a cool $25,000.
The championships, which will be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon from June 13, have attracted more than 26 nations.
Kenyan pugilists were expected to use the stage to earn points that would have ranked them favourably and increased their chances of qualifying for the upcoming Olympics.
“It now makes our work more difficult considering that we have fewer Olympics pathways left in the continent.”]
“IOC rules no longer allow all three medalists from continental tournaments to automatically qualify for the Olympics as they did previously. Instead, only gold medalists from male weight categories will qualify, while only silver and gold medalists from women’s weight categories secure slots,” Musa said.
Whereas IBA allows 13 weight categories for men and 12 for women, IOC only allows seven weight categories for men and six for women.
Musa said they would now shift attention to the 2024 Paris Olympics trials for elite men and women boxers slated for June 29 to July 1 at Charter Hall in Nairobi.
“Only boxers above the intermediate level and are in the Olympic weights will be allowed to participate,” he added.
