NAIROBI, Kenya, June 3 – Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has announced that Team Kenya’s planned pre-Olympics training camp in the Japanese City of Kurume will proceed, despite the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) earlier announcing the plans were off.
In a statement on Wednesday, NOCK had stated that officials from Kurume City had written to them notifying them of their intention to call off the camp due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But on Thursday, CS Amina came out reading from a different script, saying the communication from NOCK was erroneous.
“I think they jumped the gun. We have been in consultation with the Japanese government and the training camp is on,” said the CS.
“The 12-day training camp was a deal between Kurume City and the Government of Kenya. If there was any communication, the Kenya Government should have been consulted. For the avoidance of doubt the Japanese government has said all is clear and therefore their no confusion. The training camp in Kurume City is on and the first batch of the team leaves on July 5 for Kurume City,”
In a rejoinder, NOCK has thanked the CS for her intervention to ensure the Camp remains on.
“Following an intervention by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Sports, Art, Culture & Heritage Hon. Amb. Amina Mohamed, the Kenyan Embassy in Japan and the Japanese Embassy in Kenya Kurume City has agreed to go ahead with the scheduled pre games training camp for Team Kenya as scheduled,” a statement from NOCK stated.
The news will be welcome relief for many qualified athletes who have missed out on opportunities for better training outside the country due to complications occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
