Taekwondo players in Murang’a have appealed to the local county administration to provide them with a hall and equipment for training.
The players lamented that the public hall they were using for training has since been converted into a firefighting station, forcing them to start hiring private halls to hone their skills.
The chairman of the county taekwondo team, Mr. Ndungu Nganga, observed on Sunday that their training is currently limited since the players cannot afford the needed resources to hire halls on a daily basis.
‘After the public hall we were training in was converted to a fire station, players have been demotivated as they are forced to hire private halls to do their practices. The matter has been complicated further as the majority of players are school-going children whose parents have other competing needs, thus making them unable to raise the necessary funds,’ explained Ng’ang’a.
The chairman of the county department of sports said the county government should consider funding taekwondo like other sports, saying currently soccer is given first priority at the expense of other sports.
‘Taekwondo players just need a hall fitted with training equipment, and that is not much as compared to the requirements for some common sports,’ he added.
He continued, ‘We have requested the county administration in writing to build us a hall and buy some equipment like mats so that we can promote taekwondo in Murang’a.’
One of the taekwondo coaches, Georfrey Waweru, asked the devolved unit to set aside a kitty to support the sport.
Waweru divulged that on several occasions they have tried getting financing from the sports department, but in vain.
‘Participating in tournaments outside the county has been strenuous as we are forced to sponsor our team from our pockets. If there is a kitty, our players will be motivated, and taekwondo will be endowed like other sports,’ he added.
‘We would like to get sponsorship to be able to take our players to other countries, as this will also give them exposure,’ he continued.
Some of the players also urged the county government to consider buying uniforms for them, saying they are expensive and the majority of them cannot afford them.
‘Taekwondo uniforms are expensive, and this makes potential players shy away from joining the sport,’ observed one of the taekwondo players, Peter Kiratu.
Kiratu further noted that taekwondo, if well supported, can be a good venture to help keep the youth from indulging in alcoholism and drug abuse, thus urging the government to support the game.
Source: Kenya News Agency