The Kenyan federation is having practices for their national teams in preparation for the CAVB African Nations Championships in October. Both men’s and women’s teams have qualified for their respective tournaments.
However, with their preparations, both the men’s and women’s teams have had some difficulties due to a combination of financial difficulties with the Kenyan Volleyball Federation and also with the Kasarani Indoor Arena being on the same property as the Moi International Sports Center, which hosted the IAAF World U18 Championships in July. The IAAF event forced the closure of the Indoor Arena for a time pre- and post-event, which kept the facility from being used and therefore bringing in income.
The women’s team has been practicing at the arena in the morning, while the men’s team has been practicing in the afternoon. As of last Friday, the arena has had its power and water disconnected for three days. Head Coach David Lung’aho told The Star of Kenya, “There is no power and it’s unfortunate that teams have to train under these conditions when they are few days away from the championships.”
Sports Kenya, who is a state corporation that maintains the Kasarani Indoor Arena, feels that this issue should be turned towards the Kenyan Volleyball Federation. Sports Kenya Acting Director General Saima Ondimu alleged that the Kenyan Volleyball Federation owed money to Sports Kenya for their continued use of facilities, and by not paying those debts, Sports Kenya cannot afford to pay the bills for lights and water. Ondimu said, “KVF also owe us quite a huge amount for the days the teams have been training here.” Ondium continued, “It’s not that we are denying them on purpose but it is a situation that we have found ourselves in. The federations owe us a lot of money. Interestingly, they will run to other facilities when they have money but return to us when they have none.”
Earlier in 2017, Kenya had to pull out of the World Grand Prix due to financial issues. The Kenyan women have been one of the best teams in Africa for a long time. However, the federation needs to ensure that they are financial secure to ensure the potential for their success. Additionally, Kenya has hosted qualifiers for different African tournaments and maybe this will not happen in the future if there are continued financial difficulties.
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