Governor Ndeti turns to sports to tap talent in county

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has asked the Kenyan youth to embrace sports and take it seriously as they pursue their education at various levels.

Ndeti said sports have emerged as a major source of employment and lucrative generators of income around the world.

“Indeed, some of the highest paid individuals on the planet are sportsmen and women,” Ndeti said.

She spoke during the launch of her sporting initiative, Governor Wavinya Cup tournament, at Iiyuni grounds in Kalama, Machakos county on Sunday.

The governor who presided over the event was accompanied by officials from the Kenya Football Federation both from the national and Machakos county levels.

“As we start Wavinya Cup tournament today, I emphasise that here in Machakos we don’t take sports for granted or as an inferior alternative to white collar employment.” 

She said there were several examples of men and women in the country whose lives had been transformed through pursuit of sports as a career.

The county boss said the launched tournament targeted both young men and women across the 40 wards in the county.

Each ward will have 16 teams totalling 640 teams across the county.

The FKF officials lauded the governor for the initiative saying they had partnered with the county administration since they were scouting for talents.

“Winners at ward level will be awarded Sh20,000 while those in subcounty level goes home with Sh200,000. The top prize will be Sh1 million for the winners at the county level,” Ndeti said.

She said the youth were valuable resource which requires empowerment and capacity building to help them conquer the modern day challenges of unemployment and drug abuse.

“As a government, we are duty-bound to provide opportunities for young people and help eradicate poverty and hopelessness in their midst. Through tournaments such as these, we hope to expose our young people to the emerging opportunities in global football activities even as we help them stay away from destructive behaviours,” Ndeti said.

The governor said she believes it was possible to nurture and grow great talents in Machakos.

She said the initiative was part of her campaigns manifesto.

“During my pre-election campaigns, I made a promise that my government will prioritise development of youth talents and promote infrastructure for the development of sports and sporting industry in Machakos.

That promise, which forms part of my three-pillar transformation agenda, underscores my government’s determination to exploit the opportunities presented by sports to create sources of employment opportunities for young people, and develop our local economy,” Ndeti said.

She said her administration was working towards transforming Machakos to a regional sports hub.

“Last month, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Football Kenya Federation. This will pave way for the establishment of Sh600 million National Technical Training Centre that will be domiciled at the New Machakos City. The facility will include three FIFA standard football pitches among other physical amenities including; an accommodation complex for players, referees training centre as well as an administration block.”

Ndeti said the project will put Machakos on the regional map in terms of sports facilities to promote sports tourism in the county.

“These efforts are not being implemented at the county capital alone. At the sub county levels, my government is progressively allocating budgets to have the ongoing construction of stadia in Yatta, Mwala and Matungulu completed.

My dream is to have a decentralised approach to talent development where we will scout for talents at the grassroots level, develop them in our talent academies and expose them to national and international platforms,” Ndeti said.

She said the initiative was part of her administration’s ‘Chakula Mezani, Pesa Mfukoni’ social economic transformative agenda.