As he announced a stimulus package of Sh54 billion to cushion various economic sectors from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta hinted at lifting the movement restrictions should Kenyans observe health guidelines aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly virus.
Being in one of the sectors hit hardest by the coronavirus, local sports administrators must think out of the box and come up with a strategy to revive the sector.
Specifically, they must prepare a plan to ensure the health of sports people is safeguarded.
At the moment, all local leagues and competitions that were in progress before Covid-19 have either been suspended or cancelled.
Major global sporting events like the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and 2020 Uefa European Championship have been postponed to next year. Locally, the Safari Rally put off until next year.
The Nairobi leg of the inaugural World Athletics Continental Tour was pushed from May 2 to September 26, while World Athletics is yet to come up with a new date when Nairobi will host the 2020 World Under-20 Athletics Championships, which had already been postponed from the initial date of July 7 to July 12.
Local sports federations must use the current window to plan how their respective championships will continue or begin.
They should learn from the European leagues and take every precaution possible to safeguard the health of all those involved before any sporting competitions can resume — of course following safety guidelines from the Health and Sports ministries.
The German football league, Bundesliga, has resumed while other top leagues in Europe, such as the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga, plan to resume under strict health protocols.
Covid-19 has changed every aspect of life around the world and local athletes should be ready to embrace a new sporting environment for the good of all.
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