KAS conclude elite camp as 600 under-19 talents lined up for global stage

The programme, which drew participants from across the country, is part of a structured pipeline that has seen thousands of students scouted through holiday camps and school competitions in disciplines such as athletics, rugby, handball, football, basketball, and swimming.

The final group of 300 boys and 300 girls represents what organisers describe as the most promising young talent in Kenya, with some participants hailing from far-flung regions, including Mandera.

KAS Chair Thuo Chege said the initiative signals a shift in Kenya’s approach to grassroots sports development.

“These are things that three or four years ago were not happening, they are happening now. This is the development of sports in this country and this is the development that will take us places if we focus and remain focused.”

He called on sports federations to match the progress made at the grassroots level with improved governance and structure.

“What I would like to encourage our federations, be organised, have elections, have good leadership in the federations. The crop of students and talent is built, we now need to fine tune our federations so that when sportsmen are put into the federations, they are then taken to the next level.”

Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Secretary General David Ngugi, said the elite camp will play a key role in strengthening Kenya’s competitiveness in international youth competitions.

“By harnessing our best players, and bringing them together for elite training, this is pushing our level of competition very high it’s going to help National Olympic Committee of Kenya in selection of the teams that will represent Kenya in both ANOCA and the youth Olympics in Senegal,” said Ngugi.

Ngugi also highlighted the importance of data-driven collaboration between KAS and KSSSA in ensuring credibility in team selection.

“The kind of data KAS and Kenya Secondary Schools are collaborating in putting together is going to make sure that the selected teams for youth internationally are going to be of the correct age and caliber.”

With the camp now concluded, attention shifts to national federations, who will select athletes from the programme for upcoming international assignments, including continental competitions under the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and the Youth Olympic Games.