Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has asked County governments whose teams will be participating in the Talanta Hela, the national tournament, to properly kit their teams.
According to the CS, all 47 County bosses had submitted three different sets of uniform for their participating teams for approval yet some of the teams had gone ahead to send their players to the second round of the tourney without proper gear.
“I am challenging counties, live up to your commitment as we go to the finals. The 16 finalists, brand your teams in the colours that you brought to us and make sure that your teams shine,” said Namwamba.
“It has been shameful to see some of the teams come here without kits and we have had to scamper around to kit them,” he added.
The CS was speaking during the closing ceremony of the second round of Talanta Hela tournaments at the Moi Complex Primary School.
Earlier on the finals of football matches that were supposed to determine the eight teams that will proceed to the National Talanta Hela football tournament had to be suspended owing to a heavy downpour.
By the time of the suspension, the match between Busia girls and Homa bay had just entered its 50th minute.Busia Girls team had played to a 1-1 draw with Homa Bay with players struggling hard to keep eyes on the ball and at the same time maintain their balance due to the slippery ground. To mitigate this Namwamba said that the Ministry would be using the lessons learnt to better plan next year’s games. He noted that next year’s playoffs would not be scheduled during national examinations and due considerations would be made to ensure that the weather was also conducive.
“This was a test case. We have picked a lot of useful lessons on the timing and location where we conduct these games. I can assure you that next year it is going to be deeper in terms of planning and execution,” the CS said.
The eight teams that will proceed to the finals which will commence on December 3 include boys’ teams Kirinyaga, Nakuru, Homabay and Uasin Gishu while girls’ teams that made the cut include Machakos, Homa Bay, Uasin Gishu and Busia Counties.
By Wangari Mwangi and Samuel Maina
