Kisumu sports ground set for major facelift

The iconic Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground in Kisumu is set to receive a major facelift that could see it become a fully fledged stadium, Sports cabinet secretary Amina Mohammed has announced.



Speaking when she paid a courtesy call to Kisumu governor Anyang Nyongo on Thursday, Amina said the move is geared at aligning the facility to international standards in conformity with a directive from president Uhuru Kenyatta.



” We were directed by the president to put up a stadium in these grounds and to mThat’s why we are starting that journey today, we already have experts from ministry of publics works who arrived yesterday (Wednesday, May 20) and have been working since they arrivedake sure it’s modern, beautiful and befitting of the city of Kisumu,” she said.



” This is one of the many projects we intend to finish in the near future. We started with Nyayo which is almost complete and works are ongoing in Kasarani which we hope will be ready.



Though not initially in the Jubilee government stadia plans, the CS revealed that having another stadium in Kisumu would ensure that the government invests fully in sports infrastructure to tap in on the rich talent that abound in the region.



Despite being a haven of talents, the lakeside county boasts of only one facility- Moi Stadium, which sadly is also not up to international standards.



On his part, governor Nyongo thanked the president for the good move adding that they had also started setting up some ammenities that would come in handy.



“We have started putting some amenities at the grounds, we have a market, an ablution blocks which are important for a sports center,” said the Governor.



In the run-up to the 2013 polls, the Jubilee government promised to construct modern sports stadia in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Garissa and Eldoret. Despite an assurance to complete them shortly after 2017 elections, that has never been the case.