T. NashipaeKenyan boxing team to train in Cuba ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics - Ababu
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 01.08.23. | 18:16
The partnership would work two ways, with Cuban athletes also being invited to Kenya
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba recently announced that his ministry would champion an exchange program that would see Kenyan boxing teams train in Cuba ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics penciled for Friday 26 July - Sunday 11 August in Paris, France.
According to CS Namwamba, the initiative would be an exchange program between the Kenyan and Cuban governments. Cuban athletes would also be invited to train in Kenya’s high-altitude areas.
Received at Jose Marti Havana Int Airport by Kenya’s Ambassador to Cuba Gathoga Chege. In Havana to speak at Conference of Ministers of G77+China on unleashing creative industries to drive economies; and to unlock Kenya-Cuba MoU in Sports: boxing, volleyball, sprints #TalantaHela pic.twitter.com/4Rvk2iuT6I
— Hon Ababu-Namwamba, EGH🇰🇪 (@AbabuNamwamba) May 3, 2023
“Cuban athletes will train in Kenya’s high altitude training camps and on the other side we will send boxers to Cuba for training. Immediately we know who has qualified, arrangements are in place to parachute them to Cuba for training,” Namwamba said.
“This partnership is not just limited to the Olympics but will be a continuous partnership. We also recently signed a partnership with the French government across various sporting spheres,” he added.
Cuba is widely celebrated for the success of amateur boxers, giving birth to legends like three-time Olympic gold medalists Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon.
In track and field, the country boasts of four-time world long jump champion Ivan Pedroso, and high jumper Javier Sotomayor among others.
However, in 2018, the then Sports CS Rashid Echesa signed a Memorandum of Understanding with his Cuban counterpart Antonio Eduardo Becali Garrido for a similar exchange that sadly did not take off.
What further raises concerns is a similar exchange in the health sector that saw about 50 Cuban doctors sent to Kenya with as many Kenyan medical practitioners also traveling to Havana for training amid concerns from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union over the liability of the program.
The CS also declared the ministry’s support to all athletes who are competing in qualification tournaments, to ensure they fly the country’s flag high.
“We are marking 60 years since Kenya participated in its first Olympics. It will also be a heritage moment because it coincides with Kenya’s celebration of 60 years of self rule,” the CS noted.
The boxing team is currently in Cameroon for the African Boxing Championship, part of the qualification journey for the Olympic Games.
