CS Ababu Namwamba has announced a reward of KES 200,000 to the Kenya 3×3 basketball women team for winning the Africa Championship Cup in Cairo, to qualify for the Universality One Olympic Qualifier.
He made the announcement when he hosted the team for a breakfast to celebrate their triumph, adding that the technical team will each receive KES 100,000 for guiding the team to victory, in line with #TalantaHela program, that seeks to reward excellence in sports.
“For conquering Africa, you will each receive KES 200,000 per player and KES 100,000 per team official. This is part of our deliberate, intentional and structured effort to reward excellence in sports,” he said.
CS Namwamba also lauded the partnership between Kenya and @NBA which will see the association talent development focusing on the schools’ ecosystem, revealed that the the ministry was at advanced stages in development of the Basketball Courts in Kasarani.
“We are already at 90 percent with our development of two new Basketball courts in Kasarani. These courts will form part of the ecosystem of @sportsAcademyKE(KAS) to become your natural home in terms of training and residential camp owing to our 300 bed capacity at the facility.”
He added that his ministry was committed to improving the athletes’ training facilities and to arrange for good level friendlies and facilitation to go to Japan ahead of time so that the team can acclimatize, blend in, relax and be ready for the contest.
“My ministry will ensure that we offer all the necessary support & facilitation to guarantee you a smooth preparation to face this final hurdle on the journey to Paris.”
He urged federations to uphold transparency, good governance & accountability & prioritise athletes’ welfare.
“We must take care of our players because without these players we have no business being here. They are the goose that lay the golden egg. There is no reason why officials travel better, sleep better and eat better than the players, it is not acceptable,” he said.
“For every shilling we allocate to you, let us be accountable for it. Manage your federations well, put it in sync with the policy of government and we will succeed. You do that and we will give these young people an opportunity to live well from their talents.”
