Our sports heroes deserve more recognition for their exploits

Kenya's team for the Africa Nations Cup match against Algeria at the Kasarani gymnasium on June14, 2015. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |

What you need to know:

  • If you look at photos of the squad in action, the women are photogenic and highly marketable.
  • For once Harambee Stars were able to prepare for an international match without much drama this week.

I find it a real shame that the national women’s volleyball team isn’t getting more recognition for their continental achievements.

Our ladies are the queens of African Nations Championships and have dominated the club championships, and their indifferent image is a problem that’s been caused by both the Kenya Volleyball Federation and the government.

If you look at photos of the squad in action, the women are photogenic and highly marketable. They should be having sponsors lining up to use their faces for marketing companies’ products and services. And here is where lies the problem. Sports marketing is still in its infancy here in Kenya compared to other countries.

Despite the country having world-beating athletes in various sporting disciplines bringing invaluable exposure to the country, both the government and corporates are not taking full advantage of the opportunity to use sports personalities for marketing.

Maybe it comes down to our culture where we take our athletes for granted. How many times will Southampton superstar Victor Wanyama walk in a shopping mall virtually unnoticed or Kenya national sevens legend Collins Injera show up at a major social function and not have hoards of journalists hound him? Compare this with our politicians and businessmen who are almost demigods in the eyes of the public. We need to shift our focus and attitude towards sports personalities, who literally sweat and grind out success in their field of expertise, and respect what they do more.

The government must use our sportsmen and women more for marketing the country, particularly in tourism and public campaigns, and they may just find that their popularity amongst the public will increase. Back to the volleyball and the best of luck to our African Queens as they take on Algeria in the final of the Nations Cup at the Safaricom Complex, Kasarani Sunday afternoon. The public-at-large must turn out in force to create an ‘extra player’ advantage and help our ladies retain their title and qualify for the FIVB World Cup in Japan in August.

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Kenya will field a strong team that includes Shivam Vinayak, Tutu Maina, Alan De Boer and Ross Field for today’s FIM Africa Cross Country of African Nations at the Kisima Farm in Timau.

Other countries participating are South Africa, Uganda, Botswana and Tanzania, with a total of 52 riders lining up at the start for the event where the winner gets a free entry pass to the 2016 Dakar Rally.

However, a key rider who will miss out due to injury is Anthony Neilson. One of Kenya’s greatest ever motorcyclists, Neilson is out of the event following a horrific crash at the last Rally Raid, and his extended recovery break from a badly broken leg means that he will have to postpone his planned debut in the 2016 Dakar Rally.

However, he has been able to make it to the venue to fulfill his duty of deputy clerk of the course.

This is the second time Kenya is hosting the event, the first time being in 2011 at the Soysambu Conservancy, and fans should look out for the quad-bikes category that will feature riders Shazar Anwar, Vincent Boulanger and Zane Young.

The organising committee features East Africa Motorsports Club chairman Chris Wahome, motorsports guru Anne Troughton and Renzo Bernadi among other proven officials, meaning that we should expect to witness an extremely high quality event. Let’s hope our riders produce the goods on the track.

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For once Harambee Stars were able to prepare for an international match without much drama this week. The game against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa tomorrow is a qualifier for the Africa Nations Championships (Chan) in Rwanda, and the tournament is different to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in that it is restricted to home-based players.

That means that the squad will consist of players from the Kenyan Premier League and FKF Premier League as coach Bobby Williamson continues to look for a long term balance of local and overseas-based players.

The absence of the in-form Gor Mahia defender Musa Mohammed will be a huge blow after getting injured in training.

Harun Shakava is missing and is replaced by Lloyd Wahome.

This will be a tough match for the national team as the Ethiopian public will show up in numbers to create a 12th man atmosphere, and the country’s international football standards are amongst the best in the region. Bobby Williamson will have to bring out the best in his charges to overcome our northern neighbours.

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While clubs are supposed to be rebuilding and strengthening their squads during the transfer window, AFC Leopards are fighting fire on different fronts.

First of all, the caretaker committee led by Amin Walji has thrown in the towel claiming that another faction within the club has made it impossible for them to carry out their duties.

This war of attrition at the management level comes when the club is struggling to remain financially afloat with players and members of the technical bench abandoning Ingwe.

Coach Zdravko Logarusic has been in Croatia since last week, with word having it that he has been evicted from his apartment due to non-payment of rent, while former captain Martin Imbalambala was heckled by AFC fans outside his home following his move to Nakumatt FC.

The team is scheduled to play Ligi Ndogo this Tuesday in the GOtv Shield, and it has to be a case of damage limitation on and off the pitch in the second half of the season, as they are still fourth in the Kenya Premier League, 14 points behind leaders Gor Mahia.

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It’s another case of officials breaking promises with players, a big no-no in sport, as the national men’s and women’s squads had boycotted training this week over unpaid allowances. The money owed allegedly goes back to last year’s World Series, which also double up as Olympic qualifiers, and morale is low in both squads as the players pondered their payments this past week.

We’ve seen it in several sports, players give their all for their country whilst suffering in the background. How do you expect them to perform at their highest level when they are wondering how to pay their bills due to unpaid allowances? It’s time for sports officials to shape up or leave.