Kenyan Outfits Upbeat As Preparations For East Africa Sports Tourism Challenge Intensifies
NAIROBI, Kenya- The need to strengthen regional ties has seen East African countries come up with various ways and means to promote unity and cohesion among themselves.
One of the platforms the nations are riding on is sport and this include tournaments like the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA), the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup among others.
It is on this premise that the East Africa Sports Tourism Challenge (EASTC) was formed two years ago; to promote unity, integration and create awareness of East Africa to the rest of the world.
Seven Kenyan teams and three from Uganda have already registered for this year’s EASTC to be held in the gold town of Geita, Tanzania on December 12-18, 2022.
The games will see contestants battle in football and cycling races, with exciting prizes to be won including a rare opportunity to visit historic sites in Geita like the Saanane Island National Park in Mwanza commonly referred to as the Rock City.
“We will have various age group contests in football, from U-7 to U-20,” Tanzania Tourism Ambassador Isabella Mwampamba told Standard Sports.
“Cycling participants are mostly drawn from the teaching fraternity, women cyclists will contest the 10km challenge while the men will cover 20km, there will also be a 5km fun ride,” she stated.
The Founder and Director of Friends Sports Academy reiterated that sports is a major driver of tourism and Geita town was chosen as the location for the championships for its alluring gold tourism and rich cultural entertainments.
“We are majorly focused on contestants from age five to 20 because these are the age groups where talents can be best nurtured, through collaborative training and inclusive mentorships.
“We focus on the sports prosperity of our children and youth by cooperating with different academies and sports entities with East Africa countries and beyond.
“Last year we had 1500 participants but this year, we are estimating to have over 2000 contestants in the disciplines,” she projected.
In order to avert age cheating in the games, Arusha Football Association Chairman Mjema Zakayo, with the authority of CECAFA and the Tanzania Football Federation warned that travelling documents would be used to ascertain age groups of the athletes.
Kenya’s EASTC representative, Gathoni Ndungu, urged Kenyan outfits to seize the opportunity and register in large numbers for the games.
