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{
    "id": 1558408,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558408/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 229,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, this is a fantastic Bill that was sponsored by the great Senator for Nairobi City County. Just to recap, the Senator for Nairobi is working round the clock to make sure that one per cent of the money that our counties receive is dedicated to a sports fund within counties. He wants to see sports organisations that are registered, whether individually or as a group, benefit from some sort of funding by county governments in a predictable way that allows them to be organised and participate in different sports. As I do a recap, yesterday I intimated that, indeed, sporting has been left to grow like seeds, upon sowing, that grew among thorns surviving on their own. If you cast your eye on sporting activities in this country, sports thrive in three ways. The first one is organically through community organisations that support some form of sports here and there. Secondly, sports thrive within our schooling system, be it primary or secondary schools and then university level. You will notice that the higher level of education you go, the more sports start dwindling. That is because investment in terms of both management, funding, infrastructural support and professionalization of sports becomes a problem. That means that there is nothing as devolved by the DNA of our own country in terms of our own organisation as sports. The problem is that we have not seen the commercial viability or the business case for sports in our country to the extent that we have left local organisation of sports to just take an organic format. This is one of the ways of making sure that we enable sports to thrive as a case that is economically viable mode of belonging in our country that in some ways can uptake a swath of young people who do not get economic opportunities in this country. What do I mean by this? If you were to have a bird’s eye view on the issue of sports in our country, you will realise that the most popular sports are the ones that get a bit of attention; not enough attention to make them thrive. For instance, athletics gets a bit of attention because there is no proper investment infrastructure that is needed to support grassroots level organisation of athletes to enable them grow to the national level. The second one is soccer. Everybody in this country will agree that if you cast your eye upon what brings us together even among communities, you will realise that there is some form of semblance of organisation in sports investment in this country. Thumbs up to Gor Mahia FC, AFC Leopards, Police FC, Mathare United FC and all the teams that form our premier league. If you look at other sports that involve the other gender, especially the women who are sometimes excluded from some of physically hard sports like soccer, there is no attention to that. So, allowing this fund to take root in our grassroots communities will be the beginning of organising and investing in sports management and ensuring that we have a paradigm shift in the way we invest in sports. Currently, when young people in Narok County want to play soccer during their holiday, the only way they can do so is to have their sports time and enjoy the game while also building their professional capacities is to call Sen. Olekina and ask for financial support for sports activities. If they are in Nandi, it is even worse. I have sat The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}