Do more to lift sports standards in Kenya

The national athletics team that arrived back to the country on Tuesday did more than just representing the country during the 15th International Association of Athletics Federation World Championships in Beijing, China.

The squad of 51 athletes went out of their way to scale the height of success and more so proved to the whole world that Kenya is indeed a sporting powerhouse.

Finishing on top of the world in medals tally is not a mean achievement. The congratulatory messages that jammed the social media and the red carpet welcome accorded them, proved that Kenyans and the Government appreciate the sport, which is now the brand of the country.

Whereas tremendous effort has been made to see the sport reach this level, more needs to been done.

The good show, coming ahead of an Olympic year, has put the young brands of the country in the eyes of global athletics. The same, if not more, is expected in Rio, Brazil, just 12 months from the feat.

Athletics Kenya, Kenya Primary and Secondary Schools Sports Association, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and sponsors like Safaricom, have invested a lot of resources and manpower to tap and nurture talents through their institutions’ sporting programme.

There are potentials all over the country but the talents go unnoticed. Emphasis on academic excellence has compromised the eyes that could see the young boys and girls beyond classroom performance.

Many schools across the country devote little or no time for co-curricular activities. The mushrooming of private academies has also hampered sporting activities, with many of them located on storey buildings without play grounds.

Without playing fields, acting theatres and other social amenities, the talents in our youths will go to waste.