Kakamega County has officially been confirmed as host of both the East African Community (EAC) Secondary School Games and the Kenya National School Term Two Games this year.

High school students from the East African Community member-states Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan and host Kenya will flock to the county that is in history books as the first to build a football stadium in East, Central and Southern Africa – Bukhungu Stadium or Football Cathedral t locals.

The county also holds thee distinction being the first African team to beat a European team, according to former Council of East and Central African Footfall Association (Cecafa Secretary-General Nicholas Musonye.

Unconfirmed report say invitations have also been sent out to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Ethiopia.

More than 10,000 students and teachers will descend on Kakamega from end of July-August for the two week sporting bonanza that will climax with football finals at the ‘Football Cathedral’.

Consequently, a delegation from the Ministry of Education, the Federation of the East African Secondary School Sports Association (FEASSA) and the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSA) is on a three-day tour of the county to assess the available of sporting facilities in readiness for the events to be held at end of July and August this year.

The team kicked off the tour with a courtesy call on the western Kenya security team led by Regional Commissioner Irungu Macharia.

The regional security chief assured the team that adequate security arrangements would be put in place to ensure the event to be attended by students and delegates from eight East Africa Community countries as well as six other guest countries is a success.

The commissioner said the national government and Kakamega County government would work together to ensure the ongoing renovations at the Bukhungu Stadium are fast-tracked in readiness for the games. 

“When President William Ruto was here in Kakamega, he directed that the stadium be ready by June this year and will ensure the contractor adheres to the directive,” he added.

Head of the directorate of field and co-curricular activities in the Ministry of Education Nelson Sifuna said his team is visiting the sporting venues where the games will be held.

“We are also here to assess the available sporting facilities as we appeal for your support in terms of security, since we are aware Kakamega County has a huge sporting fan base as well as our neighbours Uganda,” he added.

“We expect officials from the International Sports Federation, which is an international sports governing body for school sport as well as teams outside of the EAC bloc to attend,” he said.

Sifuna said the event will be an ideal theatre for players to showcase their talents, which can earn them sponsorship abroad.

The Secretary-General of Federation of East African Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSA) David Ngugi appealed to both the National and Kakamega County government to move with speed with renovations at Bukhungu Stadium.

The team appealed to the two levels of government to complete the renovations on time, especially the playing field so that the final football matches can played under an enclosed venue to tame hooliganism.

Thee sport disciplines range from soccer, volleyball, hockey, tennis, basketball, netball, lawn tennis and rugby. However, fans usually focus a lot on football, volleyball and rugby.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By George Kaiga