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Cabinet Secretary for Sports Ababu Namwamba has revealed that the Kenyan government spent over Sh540 million towards uplifting the standards of sports in the country.

In his end-year message, Namwamba described 2023 as a year that was phenomenal for the youth of Kenya, a year that opened some unprecedented doors of opportunity in sports.\

According to Namwamba, under the Talanta Hela, which was launched in State House on June 9, 2023, the initiative played a key role as hundreds of millions of shillings were chanelled directly into the pockets of sportsmen and women as well as creatives, a living manifestation of “pesa mfukoni”.

Football enjoyed the biggest share with Sh 240million being channeled towards the KBC-Football Kenya Federation (FKF) live broadcast while legends were also honoured with Sh 100million.

“The historic Sh 240 million to football under the KBC-FKF live broadcast sponsorship deal guarantees every Kenyan Premier League (KPL) team at least Sh10 million a season,” read part of the statement, adding: “The Sh 100 million Hongera Awards package rewarded top performers in sports and arts in 2023 alongside Kenyan legends across the two sectors.”

The statement continued: “A team like Gor Mahia walked away with Kshs10 million under this package after winning the 2023 FKF Premier League, while teams like Vihiga Queens, Ulinzi Starlets, AFC Leopards, Shabana, GASPO Women and Murang’a Seals were similarly well rewarded.”

Namwamba further revealed how athletes had benefited from the Talanta Hela kitty with over Sh 200 million being disbursed for their exemplary performances across the world.

“Over Sh 200 million was disbursed in cash awards to both individuals and teams, including world beaters Faith Kipyegon, Kelvin Kiptum, Mary Moraa, and Ferdinand Omanyala, and for top team performances by our national teams, specifically Malkia Strikers (the African Women Volleyball Champions, who are headed to the 2024 Olympics.”

Significant investments were also made in the creative industry, with over Sh 220 million injected to support various initiatives. This included Sh 16 million directed towards the Kenya Theatre Awards, aimed at recognizing and celebrating achievements in the theatre sector.

According to Namwamba, the most consequential impact of Talanta Hela was the rapid evolution of the exciting pipeline for the deliberate, intentional, and structured identification, nurturing, and monetization of talents across sports and creatives.

“With Sh 267 million invested in the school games, music, drama, and film festivals, Kenyans witnessed school competitions on a scale never seen before, the climax being the secondary school football extravaganza at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega County, where the final game between St. Anthony School and Dagoreti Boys was watched by a mammoth crowd of unprecedented proportions and also beamed live on KBC Channel,” concluded Namwamba.