Ababu Namwamba tears into Kenya's 'International Stadiums'
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 27.08.24. | 11:15
“I am happy that within one year of coming to office,I was able to put up Kenya’s first ever infrastructure master plan"- Ababu
Former Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has mocked the numerous sporting facilities in the country that have been labelled as International Stadiums.
Over the past few years, many sports facilities have been renovated mainly due to hosting national celebrations and then named International stadiums much to the annoyance of sports stakeholders.
From Wang’uru Stadium to Jomo Kenyatta Stadium, Mamboleo and from Kericho Green Stadium to Gusii Stadium. While their upgrade is commendable, it is the naming that mainly infuriates Kenyans.
Namwamba has added his voice to the topic and tore into the “international stadiums” that are now a style in the country.
“It is atrocious and an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans how we reduced the stature of sporting facilities in this country. Now we have things like Wang’uru International Stadium in Kirinyaga County. You have Kirigiti International Stadium in Kiambu and Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium, Mamboleo in Kisumu County,” said Ababu.
The former lawmaker said that those facilities fall too short of being in such standards that they purport to be
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“The only International thing about those things, because they are not even stadiums is the word “International” in the name," he went on.
The former CS who was speaking on Safari za Mabingwa said that he is glad that in his tenure, he initiated the programs to sort out sporting infrastructure in the country and developed guidelines that will help in developing others.
“I am happy that within one year of coming to office,I was able to put up Kenya’s first-ever infrastructure master plan to guide the country on how to develop sports infrastructure. It is under this master plan that we have the Talanta Sports City coming up.
We have also categorized what should be an international Stadium, a regional stadium or county stadium and community grounds for use at the local level," he further explained.
The Talanta Sports City upon completion would be the first international-level stadium in Kenya since former President Daniel Moi constructed the Kasarani and Nyayo stadiums, over four decades ago.
“To demonstrate what an international stadium is, I designed together with my team the Talanta Sports City. It is a football-only stadium, the only one of its kind in the region, a 60,000-capacity green stadium. All the modern and tech-savvy capabilities are inbuilt in that stadium,” he added.
Ababu further said that upon completion, the Talanta Sports City will take Kenya’s sports to another level and set the standards regionally more than has ever been.
