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Local sports teams should turn into CBOs so they can benefit from government funding, Youth Fund chair Fatma Barayan has said.

Barayan said most non-pro athletes in the streets end up having wasted skills and at the end of their amateur careers, they have nothing to show for them.

“Sports brings us together. But it has to be more than that. Different sports, especially here in Mombasa and the Coast region, should do more than bring us together. They should empower us,” Barayan said.

She spoke during a local volleyball tournament organised by the president of Kenya volleyball federation Charles Nyaberi in Changamwe.

“We have to put our heads together to strategize and see how these skills can be turned into investment tools and help improve livelihoods,” the Youth Fund chair said.

She noted that local sports teams can turn themselves into community-based organizations so as to qualify for loans and grants that are issued by government entities like Youth Fund, Uwezo Fund, NGAAF, among others.

At the Youth Fund, she said, there is the Talanta loans that are issued to CBOs that are involved in sports.

“Let this not end in taking parts in sports. There must be a structured entity that can apply for and get loans and grants to start business ventures or engage in income generating activities apart from sports,” Barayan said.

She said the funds are available but youth, especially at the Coast, are not going for them because they are not in any structured organizations.

“You cannot come with a proposal and be granted funds. There are procedures to follow. You must be in a structured manner, and be registered,” the career lawyer said.

She called on those registered under any CBO or group to reach out to her for help in going about acquiring those loans or grants.

“For volleyball players for instance, you can register yourselves as a sector specific group. You are volleyball players, you can form and register a CBO or group.

“This way, you will be able to commercialize your volleyball skill. You will be able to acquire funds and most importantly, you will be trained on entrepreneurial skills, financial literacy, proposal writing,” Barayan said.

Mombasa County Volleyball Association deputy organizing secretary Dedi Dida said the county government should ensure availability of sports facilities and provide sports gear to the teams to promote the development of youth through sports.

Nyaberi said sports is fast becoming a top earner for Kenyans and must be taken seriously by all stakeholders.

He said facilities must be available so as to nurture talents that would otherwise go to waste.

“We have so much talent at the local level but the problem is how to spot and nurture them. It takes a lot of resources,” he said.

He called on both the national and county government to protect the volleyball court in Changamwe, which is being eyed by private developers for grabbing.

“Already we have seen it is being encroached on. If left unchecked, it will go,” Nyaberi said.

Mombasa County Volleyball Association chair Maduda Wawera urged all stakeholders to come on board and help young men and women conquer the sport as a way of creating employment.

“We have got very good ideas on how we can use these sports to empower ourselves even for life after sports. Once we acquire business skills, we are at a better position for even when we retire from sports or forced to retire due to injury,” Wawera said.