Taru Secondary School in Mackinnon Ward, Samburu sub-county, Kwale county will host the first modern sports academy in Kenya.
The Taru Sports Academy feature different disciplines including athletics, football, basketball, volleyball, and netball.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony, Sports Cabinet Secretary, Salim Mvurya, said the academy will also include modern changing rooms for both boys and girls in all disciplines. “This is an integrated project that will cost the government Sh55 million,” Mvurya said.
He said the academy has been scheduled to take five months if all goes according to plan. The academy is among the 37 sports academies to be constructed across the country for Sh1.7 billion.
“We have started in Taru, and Matuga will be the next stop before heading to the Rift Valley. We will continue with the initiative until we cover all 37 sub-counties in the first phase,” Mvurya said.
The objectives of the academies are to identify and nurture talents from the grassroots and ensure they are exposed to the whole world. “In the past, such projects would only be seen in the big cities.
Today, this project will change the lives of youth at the grassroots level,” he said. The CS also said the national government, in collaboration with the French government, will build a modern sports complex at Kanana in Lunga Lunga constituency, Kwale county, and another one at Bububu in Likoni, Mombasa county.
He said this is in line with President William Ruto’s manifesto, which seeks to identify, nurture and commercialise talents from the grassroots level. He said Moi, Kasarani stadium has already been transformed into a modern sports complex that is at par with the global standards.
“The President is also building another new stadium that will have a capacity of 60,000 people which will be completed in December,” Mvurya said.
