Vihiga Queens head coach Boniface Nyamunyamu and his Bunyore Starlets counterpart Daniel Arunga have raised concerns over a proposed downgrading of the sports kitty by the Vihiga County government.
The County Executive Committee member in charge of sports has revealed that they intend to reduce direct financing of teams and divert the funds into building sports infrastructure, including stadia.
However, Nyamunyamu and Arunga believe that slashing the budget will cripple teams who depend on the funding to run their day-to-day activities.
Nyamunyamu has observed that the majority of the teams are already struggling despite the financial boost from the county, and a further decrease would be detrimental.
He believes that the county should instead look for other avenues to finance the construction and rehabilitation of facilities.
This would be crucial for both the teams and the county in the future. The teams will not need hefty amounts to hire grounds, and the county will have platforms to help nurture talent.
Nyamunyamu has proposed upgrading their current home ground, Mumboha, alongside Kidundu and Kaimosi Stadium. Vihiga County has a number of teams in various national and regional leagues, including Vihiga Bullets (Kenyan Premier League), Vihiga United (National Super League), as well as Luanda Villa and Luanda Sportive, who play in DivisionI.
“Once we have our own playing grounds, we shall be able to cut down on expenses, including hiring grounds as well as travelling costs,” said Nyamunyamu as quoted by the star.
“But at the moment, the county should continue facilitating our teams.”
Vihiga Queens and Bunyore Starlets are two teams that ply their trade in the Football Kenya Federation Women’s Premier League.
According to Arunga, the teams are used as a way of keeping young boys and girls out of crime, drugs, and other societal vices, and they, therefore, need to be sustained. Both coaches believe that the county should continue facilitating their teams as they work towards achieving their goals.
“We are using these teams as away of keeping our young boys and girls out of crime, drugs and other societal vices vices and we therefore need to sustain the teams,” said Arunga.
