Kenyan leader vows to invest in sports youth talent

NAIROBI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed on Sunday to invest more in sports youth talent development programs to help improve the game in the East African nation.

Kenyatta said his government will not only fund national sports teams but also sponsor youth talent development activities.

"We have set aside money to ensure we fully fund our sports men and women but not just the national teams, we are also going to start putting money into the under-21s and under-17s," he said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

The Kenyan leader was speaking where he presided over the presentation of trophies to the winners of the 2019 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship, won by 24-year-old Italian Guido Migliozzi.

Kenyatta said the government aims at creating a strong feeder system of talented sports men and women for national teams, noting that this is the only way the country can develop its sporting potential by investing in its budding sports men and women.

The president said his recent announcement that the government will fund all national teams including the Harambee Stars, the Rugby Sevens team, National Women Netball team and the National Athletics teams is aimed at making Kenya a sporting destination.