NAIROBI — Organisers of the Sirikwa Classic World Cross Country Tour are keen to increase sponsorship from the corporate sector while reducing dependence on government funding.
Meet director Barnaba Korir says the funds received from the government could be helpful for other development projects.
"We have seen the appreciation from the government and we also thank Absa Kenya for coming on board. We thank the government for being a pillar to ensure the sponsorship continues as we look for more partners to come and sponsor this race. We also hope in the future to attract more partners so that the government funds that could have been used to sponsor the competition can be diverted to other development projects," Korir said.
Taking stock of the global event, Korir expressed pride of how they have grown in capacity as far as hosting of world class competitions is concerned.
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"Looking at how far the Sirikwa Classic has come, it shows that Athletics Kenya (AK) have come of age. We have learned a lot also from other international events that we have attended. It now gives us the motivation to show the world that we are now ready to organise events that attract them. We invite other athletes from around the world to come to Kenya and try their luck such as we have seen with the Kip Keino Classic where the foreign athletes dominate the sprints," he said.
The fourth edition of the World Cross Country Tour gold event was held the past weekend at the Lobo Village in Eldoret where thousands of athletes competed across five categories.
The 'main course' of the one-day meet was an appetiser in the form of kids' athletics.
The meet director was excited by the talents exhibited by the young ones.
"The kids who were running were from kindergarten, primary and some from secondary schools. We have shown here today that we have talent that can be nurtured to continue Kenya's legacy as an athletics giant. Kids athletics is now a growing spectacle for World Athletics...in that we also nurture talents from the grassroots," Korir said.
The country is also set to host the fifth edition of the Kip Keino Classic World Continental Tour Gold in May this year.
