Sports enthusiast in Kirinyaga have welcomed plans to upgrade General Kassam play field in Kianyaga into a stadium.
This follows request by Governor Anne Waiguru to President William Ruto to have the ground upgraded into a stadium to nurture and promote local talents.
Local football coaches and players who use the field as their training ground said upgrading of the facility was long overdue and offers hope for upcoming sportsmen.
Kianyaga Football Club coach Patrick Njogu said the planned upgrade is the best news for football players in Kirinyaga.
He said the upgraded facility will offer players an opportunity to train in FIFA standard fields thus exposing them to the real world of football.
“We are happy for the lobbying and commitment by of Governor Waiguru to upgrade our sport fields. This is all we ask for as sportsmen, we will have an opportunity also to witness national teams play games here,” said Njogu.
Rwambiti Football Club team coach John Kinyua said the facility has the potential to host over 10,000 sport funs and its upgrade will encourage many youths to venture into sports.
“This field will assist many youth to engage in fruitful activities and help in reduction of drug abuse amongst the young people,” Said Kinyua.
On Wednesday, Governor Waiguru requested President Ruto to help the county government in upgrading the field into a modern stadium to enable youth to nurture and showcase their sporting potential through tournaments, and to keep them from bad behavior.
Waiguru said the county would set aside Ksh 100 million for the upgrade while the national government tops up the rest of the funds required to complete the project.
“We only have this sports ground here in Gichugu, we want to help nurture and help our youths exploit their talents,” Waiguru said.
The governor said she will work closely with Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) to allocate the funds into the budget for the project.
She said that for the last five years, her administration has put emphasis on upgrading sports fields so that the county can nurture local talents.
The Council of Governors (CoG) chair said once upgraded, the stadium will host more local, regional and national sporting events and the same time generate more revenue.
“This field is used by teams from the Gichugu constituency and it has potential to host big matches once upgraded,” she added.
On his part, President Ruto said once the county government allocates the Ksh.100 million, the national government would top up and have the project completed.
“Once the county government allocate the money provided for by the governor, we will complete construction of the stadium,” the President said.
Ruto reiterated that the National government will continue to support the devolved units across the Country to deliver on pledges to the residents.
Once upgraded, the facility will become second stadium in the county after Wanguru International Stadium.
The sport field is named after a renown independence freedom fighter General Kassam and is strategically located at the heart of Gichugu Constituency which is branded as a resort city in Governor Waiguru’s Mountain Cities Blue Print.
