Press Release from the KENYA RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION
7th April 2010
Tuesday 30th March 2010 was a momentous day in the history of Kenyan rugby. It was the day when officials from the sport’s local governing body, the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) who included General Manager Auka Gecheo, Development Manager Fred Ollows and a friend of Kenyan rugby, Anthony Mbarine engaged high ranking officials from Kenya’s Ministry of Sports. The sports afficionado were led by Deputy Commissioner of Sports Maina Kamau and seven Provincial Directors of Sport.
The discussions aimed at capitalizing on rugby’s increasing popularity to retain the large numbers of players being churned out of the school system.
Key among the matters that were up for discussion was the possibility of the KRU liaising with the Ministry of Sports to further spread the game, most importantly at the grassroots level as it would have multiple effects on the youth and the communities they dwell in. "We already have a system of youth centres round the country and it will be a small leap to include rugby as a provision in the programme," said Kamau. He further added, "the progress Rugby continues to make has impressed on us to explore further government input"
"The Ministry of Sports, by virtue of being a government body has the capacity to reach far flung corners of Kenya that we, at the KRU can only dream of, at this stage, " said Ollows. "This co-operation will further enhance the growth of rugby in Kenya; it will serve as a landing base for those players leaving school but lacking any teams to turn out for, largely due to the current geographic realities of the game," he added.
In the long run, it is expected that this focus on youth centres will increase the senior player base thus allowing national team selectors and talent scouts to further cast their nets. The increasing recognition of sports as a profession, could, in subsequent years create job opportunities for many a young person and rugby enthusiasts who may get involved in administrative and coaching roles within the various rugby setups.
This may sound pretty good on paper but how practical is it?
Well…Anthony Mbarine, a former Kenya Harlequin and Lenana School scrum half says, "I have spent some time understanding how the government’s sports systems work at various districts especially Mara and Ngong districts. The youth centre approach is already working for, particularly, soccer." Through a business contact, Mbarine managed to secure a meeting with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports who, among other things confirmed this approach and the possibility of developing rugby at district level.
"Last year, on learning that there was a Constituency Sports Fund, we immediately worked out a model for Rugby. It turned out that the fund was only geared towards soccer. It is therefore a short step converting the concept to district level," said Ollows. "We have seen how the soccer model works currently and have the capacity to improve it. For one, we would aim for youth centre competition at district, then provincial and finally, national"
At the moment, the 216 districts in Kenya receive KSh 750,000 each to be spent on any three preferable sports. The wananchi get to choose the sports. Each sport has KSh 250,000 available to it. This means that there is a potential KSh 54 million available for rugby development in government coffers!
"We are ready to institute, at least 3 youth centres per Province as soon as within a month. We now have your training calendar and will endeavour to send the District Sports Officers, as well as the Provincial Directors to your May courses, to enable them understand how the game works. If you send us the technical materials, we will be able to make them ready for the training events," intimated Kamau
On its part, the KRU will provide volunteer coaches for the pilot centres and the necessary training of the player groups. The Union is understandably excited about using the government’s footprint.
Frank Sabwa, the Union Secretary indicates, "We have been looking for primary strategic partnerships with government. Last year we initiated a relationship with the Ministry of Education for a Primary school programme. With this approach, we feel that we will be better able to take care of the youth end of the game and further consider the qualitative aspects of the game’s expansion. At the same time we would link the successes of the schools programme to adult rugby"
The game is definitely geared for exponential growth.