KTF national elections pushed to August

Several County Taekwondo Associations have not met the eligibility requirements, forcing the Registrar of Sports to postpone the elections, as explained by Ndung'u Ng'ang'a - Chairperson of Murang’a County Taekwondo Association.

According to Ng'ang'a, Chairperson of Murang’a County Taekwondo Association, only two county associations, Nairobi and Murang’a, had met the required criteria for participation.

A total of 37 county associations failed to comply, prompting the Registrar to delay the elections by six more months.

Ng'ang'a explained that county associations are required to conduct their internal elections before receiving a certificate of compliance, a crucial document for participating in the national elections.

However, most associations have not fulfilled this obligation, leaving them ineligible to vote in the upcoming elections.

“The Registrar of Sports urged all non-compliant associations to conduct their elections within six months to qualify for the upcoming exercise,” Ng'ang’a stated.

The Registrar also identified significant issues with the Federation’s leadership, particularly the absence of a clear election roadmap.

“There were no clear guidelines, and the majority of associations stated they received communication too late. Despite the challenges, the event was well attended, with teams travelling from Mombasa and Kisumu, eager to vote for the new leadership,” Ng'ang’a added.

Ng'ang’a, who is also the proprietor of Weusi Taekwondo Club based in Kariobangi, Nairobi, has in the meantime called for increased government support for Taekwondo and other sports.

He emphasised that proper funding could help develop more talent and grow the sport at the grassroots level.

“We can make Taekwondo more popular and discover many talents if the government supports us adequately. We have relied on athletics for Olympic medals for too long. It’s time to diversify and support sports like Taekwondo, which have the potential to bring us even more medals,” he urged.

Ng'ang’a further decried lack of support from county sports departments, who, despite receiving substantial funding, have not been responsive to requests for assistance.

“We’ve received no support from the counties. We have written letters and visited their offices, but we get no positive feedback. The best way to create jobs and opportunities for our youth is to support talented individuals and professionalize sports, making them sustainable for clubs and players,” he lamented.

The Kenya Taekwondo Federation (KTF), since 1990, is an affiliate of World Taekwondo (WT), formerly known as World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), the international governing body for the sport whereby KTF has been a member since the year 1990.

The Ministry of Sports, alongside KTF, hopes that the extended timeline will allow all county associations to meet the necessary standards, ensuring a fair and organised election process that will propel Taekwondo to greater heights in Kenya.