Athletics Kenya reads the riot act to unscrupulous managers

After a month-long consultative tour of the country, Athletics Kenya (AK) says they are compiling a detailed report of athletes' concern while promising swift action on pertinent issues raised during the meetings. 

Top of AK's list is the need to address the continuous exploitation of young female athletes by unscrupulous coaches and managers an issue the AK president, Jack Tuwei in a statement termed as 'quite earth-shattering'.

The federation's concerns come at a time when World Athletics, last month, released a report that uncovered the scale of violence against children sports across Europe. Concerns have continued to grow on the safety of minors as cases pile of underage athletes who have been abused ag one point in their career. 

"This was one of the recurrent matters athletes lamented on. The situation has not been helped by the fact that most of these juniors hail from poor backgrounds and are desperately in need of a helping hand, which provides these wolves in sheep clothing with an opening.

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Subsequently, many athletes’ young careers have been nipped in the bud through unwanted pregnancies and early marriages. Furthermore, it was apparent that many athletes and their families have been duped by middlemen in the guise of organizing races abroad for them only to disappear with their winnings.

We remain hawk-eyed to persons masquerading as coaches to prey on young talents. We look forward to more collaboration with athletics stakeholders as we right the wrongs of the sector while perfecting our strong suits," AK president Tuwei said without specifying the specific actions the federation would take. 

Tuwei says the federation is in the process of compiling the final report that will capture all issues raised in the consultative forums. 

Afterwards, the report will be validated by all stakeholders to ensure all the core matters expressed during the month-long meetings are efficiently captured.

"This series of deliberations was one of a kind and the spotlight was on the athletes as they poured out their hearts on what needs to change in the industry to drive it forward and tighten our country’s grip on the title as a powerhouse in athletics.

This was a break away from previous instances where athletes were required to sit back and listen to experts doling out advice on how to live their lives without considering the suitability or applicability of such tips to every situation.Considering the rich information harvested from these consultative fora, undertaken across 15 regions in the country, it seems a masterstroke and an eye-opener," Tuwei continued. 

Further, AK acknowledged the need to make access to release letters from AK whenever athletes are heading abroad for competitions easier.

"We are in the process of streamlining the same to ensure all athletes have fair and timely access to these letters," he added.