these claims and hoping to iron the
Chinese football scene.
On matters sports infrastructure,
Chinese cities have sought to bid
for major sporting events with the
highlight of this being the 2008
Beijing Olympics Games. This
sports renaissance was an important
milestone to announce the Chinese
‘dragon’ of the 21st century.
Beyond their local space, the
Chinese made deliberate moves
into Africa and other developing
economies to form the core of
infrastructural projects. With what
pundits call stadium diplomacy,
the Chinese authorities undertake
to finance the construction or
maintenance of stadia, in exchange
the government of the day signs
off with Chinese contractors
offering support and exposure to
their own. There are over 40 stadia
constructed or refurbished by
Chinese contractors in the last 10-
15 years in Africa alone!
In contemporary times, the Chinese
aid focuses on themes of “equality,
mutual benefit and no-strings
attached”, according to China’s
Information Office of the State
Council. This form of committing
foreign aid and subsidized loans
makes the Chinese attractive
to Government functionaries’
especially in Africa.
This model revamped the Kasarani
stadium right here in Kenya. There
was an urgency to the process as
Kenya had bid and won to host
the last World Under-18 Athletics
championships early in July. A
successful event depending on how
you view, though not without heavy
Government subsidies – like the
‘free entry which saw the stadium
fill to capacity in the last 2 days of
the event.
Old Is Gold?
We pat ourselves on the back
92 MAL 19/17 ISSUE
‘‘ Back to our Asian
partners. With the
entreaties to our
national governments
to engage in exploiting
opportunities for
investing in Kenya
and indeed in Africa,
remember the
populace will only
accept to be blind for
only so long. If there
is no genuine public
good in investing in
such infrastructure,
it will be a matter
of time before the
same public revolts
and openly opposes
any investments. To
paraphrase Zig Ziglar,
“You don’t build a
stadium, you build
people, and the people
build the stadium’’
for hosting, an event of such
magnitude even as the country
prepares for a momentous election
in August. It is important to note
what the legacy of such huge
infrastructure projects is and how
the Government of China would
support African governments.
The only other major sporting
event besides this that Kenya
held was the Africa Athletics
championships in 2010 and the
All-Africa Games in 1987. Both
events necessitated the construction
and refurbishment of two of the
largest sports edifices in Kenya.
Besides the occasional tournaments
such as the Safari Sevens, Africa
Cup of Nations qualifiers and
athletics meets, the venues usually
go for long periods unused and in
disrepair.
Our current administration had
promised five state-of-the-art
stadia by 2017 while getting into
government. In 2014-5, a baseline
study was done on which venues
were likely to be constructed or
repaired; the process was both
tedious and mired in both national
and county diplomacy. Choosing
whom to believe, we would think
this was an overkill.
TAs much as Kenya is a sporting
powerhouse in the region and
indeed in Africa, it would be
prudent to look at what are the
priorities – new investments
in sports infrastructure or
refurbishment and appraisal of
existing stadia and sports facilit ies.
This needs to follow with a
deliberate effort to engage the
youth and citizenry in sporting
activities both as a recreational and
career activity. Unfortunately, the
disjointed efforts from the national
government, county administrators’
as well as sports bodies has seen
the country without a coherent
sports and recreation policy
guideline.
Legacy And Not The Subaru …
Perhaps one thing we ought to
learn better from the Chinese or
other ‘benevolent countries’ while
developing our sports infrastructure
is the legacy of these venues.
Examples such as the London
Olympics venues in 2012 which
have either been converted into
national sporting venues or sold