Spearheading clean sports in community based sports teams in Kenya

With the advancement of sports science around the globe, international sporting federations and confederations have invested resources to undertake research with a view of disseminating information around performance of athletes across different sporting disciplines.

Countries participating in events such as the Olympics and FIFA World cups are engaging sports medicine experts to develop strategies that will sustain high performance, reduce injury risk and ensure sportspersons are in a positive state of mind.

However, in recent years, cases of using banned substances have been rife thereby damaging the reputation of different disciplines. In a bid to ensure teams win, some officials have engaged in unethical practices by encouraging doping. This can be attributed to rewards associated with victories, increase in sponsorships as well as the need to protect the heritage of a given country, team or athlete.

The World Anti-Doping Agency has had to take disciplinary action against those found guilty in a bid to eradicate unfair competition. They do this through their education programmes as well as their pressure to governments to enact legislations prohibiting doping.

To effectively fight the menace of doping, there is a need for partnerships to educate young athletes and officials at the grassroots level on the hazards of taking banned substances.

In a bid to ensure clean sports is practiced at the grassroots level, Inuka Direct, through the Footworks programme, has teamed up with the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya to conduct awareness sessions on the importance of clean sports. The sessions will be hosted by Dagoretti Former Footballers Association on 29 May and the young participants’ version on 10 June, both at Dagoretti Empowerment Centre, Naivasha Road. Both sessions will kick off at 10:00 EAT.