Participants during the Safaricom Marathon, which was held at the Lewa Conservancy in June. file
What you need to know:
The organisers of the Lewa Marathon have excelled in such arrangements and runners are often certain of not only what is expected of them, but the logistics of the event, including accommodation.
Kisumu recently opened its doors to visitors from out of town in style with the unveiling of the newly remodelled Moi Stadium, a clear demonstration of the seriousness counties are attaching to efforts to attract sporting events.
The stadium, which had languished in a sorry state and missed out on major tournaments for two decades, basked in sporting glory when it hosted home favourites Gor Mahia FC versus GFE 105 FC. The two teams were participating in the GoTV Shield tournament and what a thriller it proved to be, with the KPL champions sensationally knocked out 4-2 on post-match penalties by the relatively unknown Eldoret-based minnows.
The anticipation by fans to see the new grounds put to the test in such a high-profile match was evident in the huge turnout, which put paid to the preparations and huge investment that went towards making the event a success.
The county government pumped Sh50 million into the stadium that now can only be compared to Nairobi’s City Stadium, which uses an identical artificial turf surface (astro-turf, a brand of synthetic carpet placed on a pitch that resembles grass).
The turf was laid by Greenfields Sports Turf System, a Dutch-based company, while construction was facilitated by world football body FIFA, in terms of funding. Beyond the GOTV Shield match, Kisumu is looking to capitalise on the refurbished stadium to attract major sporting competitions to the county.
Uasin Gishu is also not being left behind as it prepares to host the Kenya Communications Sports Organisation (Kecoso) games, which county officials are banking on to boost domestic tourism as sports fanatics flock from across the country.
Contractors, including a team of Italian experts, are working round the clock to complete work on the Kipchoge Stadium in time for the games’ opening ceremony slated for August 9. The county is bracing itself for a windfall during the 10-day tournament that is expected to attract hundreds of participants and tens of thousands of spectators.
But more importantly, the games that bring together teams from telecommunication firms across the country are bound to be closely followed by other counties keen on learning a thing or two about hosting such a huge event.
Vihiga is one such county that would do well to send its MCAs on a local benchmarking exercise. In its quest to become a premier destination for music, sports and cultural events, this western Kenya county lobbied hard and in April, it got the green light from the organisers of a national beauty pageant to host a countrywide contest.
Accommodation
The Miss Tourism Kenya contest is a huge event that requires a substantial amount of money to be successful, a fact Vihiga belatedly realised when it had to kiss the fair goodbye due to inadequate preparation and lack of funds.
“We had intended to host the event this year but we cannot raise Sh80 million within three months,” admitted Vihiga Governor Moses Akaranga in an article published online early in the year. “Hosting 3,000 delegates is not a joke.”
To its credit, the county is determined to raise the funds and host the event next year. But officials must look beyond what traders stand to gain and realise that they will need to work on amenities such as hotels and guest houses to ensure the event is a success.
Accommodation, security and a good road network are some of the facilities necessary in driving traffic to counties. And although no county can have enough hotel rooms to handle say 5,000 tourists at a go, they can strive to ensure they have better ways to cater for the crowd.
Camping sites and recreational facilities in emerging rural towns like Vihiga, West Pokot, Bungoma and Nandi are important because they offer alternatives for visitors.
The organisers of the Lewa Marathon have excelled in such arrangements and runners are often certain of not only what is expected of them, but the logistics of the event, including accommodation.
Prepared
Meru appears to have borrowed a leaf from Lewa when it organised the Meru Sevens Rugby tournament. The county marketed the event as well as several hotels, which made the outing easier for those coming from out-of-town.
The Kenya Rugby Union (KRU), Motocross, 10 to 4 Mountain Bike Challenge and Rhino Charge all excel at organising sporting events out in the counties.
Two months ago, cycling enthusiasts congregated in Watamu for the Trialthon which brought together both local and international enthusiasts. This is one sport that is quickly going county as cyclists go to Mt Kenya, Kajiado and other venues around the country.
The recently held Masaku Sevens, which raked in millions for Machakos County in May, is a KRU series tournament just like Dala Sevens in Kisumu, Safaricom Sevens, Elgon Cup in Bungoma and many other matches hosted by the club.
According to KRU acting chief executive Michael Otieno, events of this magnitude take knowledge to host and cannot be done haphazardly. Otieno is not happy with the way counties are rushing to host sports, especially rugby when they are not yet ready to do so.
“Tournaments are just shooting up. We want things that can happen annually and involve all counties,” he said.
KRU organises its tournaments with the support of hosting clubs. For instance, Kabeberi Sevens can either be hosted by Mwamba RFC or Harlequins, while Dala Sevens is organised with the help of Kisumu RFC. This collaboration makes it easier to pull off the events, and in style. Clubs also get adequate backing from home grown fans who help in amplifying the tournaments, giving it plenty of publicity.
The same principle applies for polo tournaments held away from Nairobi in places like Timau where the event runs smoothly by incorporating people who know the game and place well.
To ensure counties understand what they are getting into, KRU conducts workshops where it takes officials through the nitty-gritty of hosting rugby competitions.
Inter-county series
“I would rather we first meet officials in the counties and sell the idea to them,” says Otieno. KRU hopes counties will buy its ideas and incorporate the tournaments into a nationwide league, like an inter-county series.
KRU says that it monitors standards of the rugby pitches and therefore the grounds used by counties need to meet international standards.
Otieno also says that following the outcry over morality issues after the recent Masaku Sevens, KRU will be more involved in maintaining ethical and moral standards of any games played under its ambit. A tall order indeed, considering that much of what happened took place away from the pitch. But the negative publicity has spurred KRU into action.
However, Otieno doesn’t in any way allude to the fact that KRU is against counties hosting such sporting events. “It’s a good thing and it all goes to promote tourism, but we want to do it right. Any kind of negative publicity is not helpful at all.”
Nevertheless, he points out that counties must improve key infrastructure like roads in order to successfully host major sporting events. Construction of internationally endorsed fields is one important step in the right direction, but this takes money and planning, aspects many counties naively overlook.
