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"content": "Hon. Speaker, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports operates especially for sports through the federations. So, sorting out the football is sorting out the federations. The election process that we are undertaking will be as transparent as possible, to make sure that those who come in will follow the narrow path, to ensure that our football is managed well. Besides that, we will, of course, play our part as a Government to support the nurturing of talents in the football sector. We will also make sure that the Harambee Stars team is also facilitated enough to prepare well for tournaments. However, it is extremely important to ensure that the management of sports, including football, is going to be as professional as possible, so as to open doors for many young people to play a role in that sector. Hon. Millie Odhiambo has raised a very important question touching on Ms. Clare Meris, our daughter, who comes from her county. I want to allay the fears that people have that there was unfair selection of sports teams. It is far from it. Unfortunately, in the sports sector, you can be doing very well today but when the final selection for a tournament is done, you may not meet the cut. Three of the girls participated and helped the team to qualify. That was a year ago. By the time the selection was being done, there were about 35 players in the camp, and about 14 were dropped. Ms. Clare Meris became a victim of that process, and not because the coach was biased, but she was just selecting the best team that can compete. As a result, with the support of His Excellency the President, we funded the three girls who participated in the qualification process to travel to the Dominican Republic as fans, to just have that inspiration and even facilitated them to come and do the exams with their colleagues who got the chance to play. Football is cruel. Anyone who has been following football knows that it can be very cruel not to be in the final list of the selected 23 players. You have been hoping. You have been playing very well and hoping to go with the team. Fans of different teams will say that a certain player is qualified, while another one is not. But there is only one person who determines the team; the team manager or the coach. Once they select, that this is the best team for us to compete. We support them because that is their professional responsibility. The Cabinet Secretary and FKF cannot interfere because that is the preserve of the coach. However, in terms of developing our players, maybe in the future, when they talk to them, they should do so nicely. They should tell them that they did not make it to the team and encourage them to try the next time. However, when they travel and are encouraged, they also get inspired to make sure that they are in the next World Cup. Hon. Speaker, regarding the question by Hon. Millie, I want to state that Suba North will eventually have an academy because the intention is to have 290 academies. Most of those academies will be situated in schools for maintenance and accessibility. So, that will eventually happen. It may not be in the first 30 but, as I read earlier, it could be in the next 90 that follows or the 80 that will be among the last ones in the strategic plan of the Ministry. However, we hope that can be done fairly so that it is spread across the counties. One county should not benefit at the expense of others. Hon. Basil had asked about doping. Doping is a serious issue. I will be paying lip service if I give an answer because it would not be comprehensive. The anti-doping programme is so comprehensive. There is one agreement we made with the World International Athletics Federation, when Lord Sebastian Coe came around. We agreed that we call it enhanced programme, which is a three-year programme to make sure that we do better testing using better facilities. However, comprehensively, we need the budget. You heard me mention earlier on The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}