The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) has on Wednesday sponsored Kenya Sevens to the tune of Sh1.5m as they prepare for the Africa Cup/Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifier to be held in Harare, Zimbabwe this weekend.
NOC-K Secretary General Francis Mutuku highlighted the criteria the body used to arrive at the team to support.
“We have sat down as a board and evaluated and seen that our men’s rugby team is one of the team sports with high prospects of making it to Paris. As they begin their campaign this weekend, we want to affirm our support to them throughout this qualification period,” Mutuku said.
Shujaa becomes the third team to receive this kind of sponsorship from Nock body after the women’s hockey team and Malkia Strikers, who recently got crowned African champions.
The ongoing sponsorships are part of the Olympic Committee's strategy to support teams in their Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers.
Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chairman, Sasha Mutai, said the sponsorship will boost the team as they seek to qualify for a third Olympic Games since rugby 7s was introduced at the games. Shujaa made their debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics and were also in Tokyo in 2021.
“We are in a transition period and we are therefore taking and welcoming all the support we can get. I want to thank Nock for their continued support, especially during this time when we are on a hunt for the Paris 2024 ticket,” he said.
The team had a two-week training camp in Nakuru county after which they moved to Nairobi, where they are finalising their preparations ahead of their departure on Thursday.
Shujaa's co-captain Vincent Onyala said: “We have had very good training sessions and the boys are in a good mood and high spirits. I believe we will be in Paris come next year."
Shujaa was unable to secure a direct ticket to the 2024 Olympics after finishing outside the top four in the recently concluded World Sevens Series season.
Shujaa are placed in Pool 'B' alongside Zambia, Namibia and Nigeria.
Pool 'A' has Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, Madagascar and rugby powerhouse South Africa. Pool 'C' has hosts Zimbabwe, Algeria, Burkina Faso and current Africa men’s sevens title holder Uganda.
