Kenya has never lacked sporting talent. What we have lacked is the ecosystem to fully unlock its economic potential.
Across the country, a quiet but profound transformation is unfolding. New sports academies are emerging in cities, towns, and villages. Community playing fields are being upgraded. County stadiums that had stalled for years are springing back to life. Talanta Sports City is rising on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Kasarani, Nyayo National Stadium and Kipchoge Keino Stadium are undergoing major modernization ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which Kenya will co-host with Uganda and Tanzania.
Viewed individually, these may appear to be ordinary infrastructure projects. Taken together, they signal the emergence of a national sports ecosystem, one that has the potential to redefine sport from recreation into one of Kenya’s most promising economic frontiers.
For far too long, Kenyans have associated sport almost exclusively with competition and entertainment. Yet around the world, sport has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry that creates employment, drives innovation, stimulates tourism, attracts investment, and builds national brands. Kenya is exceptionally well positioned to become part of that global success story.
Our athletes have dominated Olympic Games, World Championships and the world’s leading marathons for decades. Rugby Sevens has established Kenya among the world’s most exciting teams. Our volleyball players remain continental giants. Boxing, basketball, football, hockey, cricket, tennis, golf, swimming, cycling, motorsport, martial arts and para-sports continue to produce exceptional talent. Yet, despite this abundance of talent, we have historically under-invested in the infrastructure and systems needed to transform sport into a major pillar of our economy.
That is why I believe the Kenya Kwanza administration’s renewed investment in sports infrastructure deserves greater public appreciation. It is not merely constructing stadiums; it is laying the physical foundation upon which a vibrant sports economy can thrive.
The real significance of Talanta Sports City is not the impressive architecture that will define Nairobi’s skyline. Its true value lies in its ability to attract continental and global competitions, generate tourism, create employment and inspire future generations of athletes.
The same applies to the modernization of Kasarani, Nyayo National Stadiums, Kipchoge Keino Stadium and the completion of long-stalled facilities in counties across the country. These projects are decentralizing opportunity, ensuring that promising young athletes no longer migrate to Nairobi to access quality facilities.
Equally encouraging is what is happening at the grassroots. Sports academies are mushrooming across Kenya, reflecting growing public confidence that sport can provide a meaningful future.
Every weekend, thousands of children lace up their boots, step onto basketball courts, enter boxing rings, dive into swimming pools or line up on athletics tracks with dreams that extend far beyond the final whistle.
Youth tournaments are becoming more organized and competitive. Competitions such as the Rausha Cup that was held in Nakuru in April and the forthcoming Nairobi International Cup are exposing young players to structured competition, professional coaching and talent scouts.
Similar platforms are emerging in athletics, rugby, volleyball, basketball and other disciplines, steadily building a pipeline through which gifted young Kenyans can progress from grassroots competition to national and international stages. This is exactly how successful sporting nations are built.
England’s triumph at the UEFA Women’s EURO in 2022 was a culmination of decades of investment in community playing fields, youth academies, coaching, and elite player development. Long before England lifted the trophy, it had invested in an ecosystem capable of producing champions consistently.
South Africa offers another valuable lesson. Its preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup involved substantial investment in modern stadiums and supporting infrastructure.
While debate continues over the utilization of some facilities, few would dispute that those investments fundamentally strengthened South Africa’s ability to host international sporting events, concerts, conferences and tourism, reinforcing its position as one of Africa’s leading sporting destinations.
Neither country invested in infrastructure simply to host tournaments. They invested because they recognized that sport is an industry. Kenya is now beginning to embrace the same philosophy.
Kenya is implementing the Competency-Based Education (CBE) curriculum, which recognizes talent as a legitimate pathway for learning, personal growth and career development.
Sports is no longer an extracurricular activity; it is an academic pathway. It is a profession. It is an enterprise.
A gifted footballer, athlete, swimmer or volleyball player can now aspire not only to compete professionally but also to build careers in coaching, sports science, physiotherapy, sports law, event management, officiating, digital content creation, sports technology, sports marketing and athlete management.
Parents are increasingly recognizing this reality. For many families, sporting talent is no longer viewed as a distraction from education. It is paying school fees. It is creating employment. It is opening university scholarship opportunities. It is lifting households out of poverty. It is restoring dignity and hope.
That is precisely why the sports economy aligns naturally with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). Stadiums should remain vibrant community assets throughout the year, not monuments opened only during major tournaments.
The government’s investment in sport must be viewed as a complete value chain rather than a collection of independent projects.
If history remembers this period simply as the era when Kenya built stadiums, then we shall have underestimated what was truly achieved.
The medals will inspire us. The trophies will unite us. But the true victory will be building a nation where every talented child, regardless of where they are born, has an opportunity to turn ability into achievement, passion into profession and sport into prosperity. That, in my view, will be Kenya’s greatest sporting victory.
The author, Dr. Sitati Olando, is a Delivery and PPP Expert, and the Head of Government Delivery Unit in the Executive Office of the President, Kenya (sitatiolando@gmail.com)
