UNBUNDLING THE KENYAN SPORTS ACT: ROLE, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE KENYAN SPORTS ACT 2013

Abstract

The Kenya National Assembly enacted the Sports Act 2013 after many years of suggestions, deliberations and proposals over the making of such a law. The Sports legislation is an Act of Parliament to harness sports for development, encourage and promote drug-free sports and recreation, to provide for the establishment of sports institutions, facilities, administration and management of sports in the country, and for connected purposes. This law has come up with various institutions namely Sports Kenya, National Sports Fund and Kenya Academy of Sports. It also provides for Financial Provisions, procedures for registration and regulation of sports and licensing, arbitration of Sports disputes and miscellaneous provisions. Furthermore, the Act has four schedules namely sports facilities to which the Act applies, matters to be provided for in the constitutions of sports Organizations, the conduct of business and affairs of the board of the authority, board of trustees and council of the institute and transitional provisions. Although the Act is very progressive in the domain of sports in Kenya and the entire East African region because it legitimizes institutions, provide for arbitration mechanisms and recognize research as a core aspect in sports, it has introduced a number of challenges to the sports fraternity. Among these, include aligning the constitutions of various Sports associations to the Act and undergoing the new vigorous process of registering, regulating and licensing sports agencies. Sports professionals therefore need to update with the new Sports Act to retain relevance in their profession and warrant them professional growth. Therefore, it was deemed relevant to enlighten the practitioners of these new developments and seek for ways to upgrade their administrative strength and correct any inconsistency in this law through amendments to the Act.

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