Govt disburses Sh20 million to cushion footballers amid Covid-19

The Ministry of Sports on Tuesday disbursed some Sh20 million stimulus package to cushion vulnerable sportsmen and women amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Amina Mohammed, footballers are the first lot to receive the government aid after a rigorous vetting exercise to determine the beneficiaries.

“Today we have begun rolling out the stimulus package for sportsmen and women. We have agreed we are starting with Kenya Premier League (KPL). We are beginning with them and we will continue for the next 15 days. We are starting this programme with Sh20 million,” said Amina when she toured the new-look Nyayo National Stadium.

At the same time, Amina disclosed that the ministry has received a further Sh30 million from the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund which will further boost their kitty with each sportsperson in the programme expected to pocket Sh10,000.

“The Sports Fund has put in Sh30 million and now we are talking about Sh50 million that we will channel to our athletes. Every sportsperson will get Sh10,000 and depending on the amount received we’ll try to reach as many athletes who are in distress,” said Amina.

Amina explained that each individual sports people will receive the cash directly from the ministry.

The CS further appealed to corporates and well wishers to support the initiative which is set to cover sports people for a couple of months.

“We are going to do this for two to three months and that is why we need to get support that we are asking for,” she said.