Kenyan rugby pleads with government to lift sport suspension

Kenyan rugby appeals to end of sport suspension

JOHANNESBURG, April 7 (ANA) – The Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) on Tuesday appealed to the Kenyan government to reverse its decision to suspend sporting activities in the East African nation due to Covid-19.

The number of active Covid-19 cases reached a record high of 42 843 in the country on Monday.

The Kenyan government announced the suspension on March 26, and KRU has been particularly hard hit by ruling.

The KRU said in a statement:

“The suspension came at a time when Kenyan rugby was picking up after a year of inactivity occasioned by the initial lockdown and ensuing factors critical to getting the government green light to return to play.

“This period of inactivity came at a cost. We lost revenues due to event cancellations, most notably the Rugby Africa Barthes Under-20 Trophy, the National Sevens Circuit and the Safari Sevens.

KRU said that although the government offered a package to national team players, there were many more players without national contracts who were harder hit by the previous disruption in sports.

The KRU said: “Think about those men and women who contributed to the game as match officials, medics, service providers, vendors, journalists, photographers and broadcasters – their livelihoods took a hit and they, alongside their dependents have borne the brunt of the disruption.

“We also subjected our employees to pay cuts as part of the mitigation factors brought about by this unique situation.”

KRU ended off the statement with a desperate plea to government: “It is our humble plea that president Uhuru Kenyatta rescinds his decision to suspend sports activities, rugby included.” – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman