Kenyan football pitches have been rendered pathetic as heavy rains pound the country.
Local top-flight clubs have been forced to host their Kenyan Premier League matches in alternative venues.
Such changes come with additional costs that strain the scarce resources available to local clubs.
The absence of quality football pitches in the country has proven to be a serious concern for local football administrators and clubs across all tiers.
Local coaches have repeatedly wailed about the situation. It is painful to see fields in an appalling state 60 years after the country attained independence.
So bad is the crisis that bloggers from neighbouring countries have turned Kenya into a laughing stock as they post photos of Kenyan players drenched in murky water.
It's time we took the matter into our strides and sought a permanent solution.
The nation has lost considerably owing to a shortage of quality playing surfaces. Kenya was stripped of the right to host the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) cast aspersions on the quality of our stadia.
A Caf inspection team visited Kenya in 2017 and found only the 60,000-capacity Moi stadium, Kasarani, ready to stage the event.
It was the second time Kenya was barred from staging a continental showpiece after being replaced by South Africa as the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations host.
The government's plans, under Vision 2030, need to be fast-tracked to bring relief.
The government committed to building five stadia in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret and Garissa.
The country also envisioned refurbishing existing facilities at the county level to accommodate swimming, tennis, basketball and rugby.
There were plans to rehabilitate 47 county stadia to international standards.
The Dandora Stadium is now open to the public after a six-year wait.
The Sh350m stadium is designed and constructed according to FIifa international standards.
Over 30 football clubs will use the stadium at reasonable rates. Hopefully, they will find the facility tenable even during the rainy season.
But as the country embarks on sustained efforts to put up sports facilities, it should not be lost on us that quality is of utmost importance.
It doesn't make sense to have a host of sports facilities that are rendered useless during the rainy season.
