Kenya Rugby Union comes out to clarify why fans will miss this year’s action

The Kenya Rugby Union chairman Oduor Gangla has come out to clarify the reason behind Kenya
Rugby Union (KRU) cancelling this year’s Safari Sevens.

According to the KRU chairman, the union was unable to host a tournament worth the calibre of the Safari Sevens hence the cancellations of this year’s tournament.

“We really tried our level best to host a global status tournament, but due to financial constraints, we were unable to put up a tournament worth the Safari sevens calibre,” Gangla said in an exclusive interview with People Daily Sports.

KRU had quoted the tournament would cost an estimated Sh80 million thus asking well-wishers
to come on board and assist the Union in making the event a success.

In his defence, however, Gangla revealed the Union has been engaging relevant stakeholders to ensure the next Sevens tournament is a success, with the Chairman assuring rugby enthusiasts, better days lie ahead for the sport.

“Better days lie ahead for the rugby fraternity, whereby we have been engaging relevant stakeholders to try and ensure we plan early for next year’s edition and guarantee it is a success not only for the players but also the larger rugby fraternity,” Gangla said.

Despite the cancellation of the Sevens, Gangla was elated with the return of rugby activities with the Impala Floodlights acting as the curtain raiser for the 2022/2023 season that kicks o officially on November 26, 2022.

Gangla insisted on the importance of the Floodlight tournament for participating teams given the absence of the much-anticipated tournament due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Impala floodlights is the perfect tournament for teams to test their systems ahead of the new season given that we have not had the tournament since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s also a good tournament for the new prospects to showcase their
talent,” Gangla added.

A fortnight ago KRU was forced to postpone the once trendy Safari Sevens to what they termed “unavoidable circumstances,

“Kenya Rugby Union has come to a difficult decision to position the event occasioned by unavoidable circumstances,” a statement by KRU to participating teams read in part.

KRU also took the opportunity to apologise to the die-hard rugby fans for the sudden postponement
“Your commitment, involvement, and support for the Safari Sevens have been recognised over the years, and we take this opportunity to apologise for the late postponement, “the statement further read.

Prior to the cancellation of the much-awaited tournament by KRU, this year’s edition was to run from
October 14 to 16 at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) ground.

The 25th edition of the tournament would have involved three categories — veterans, age grade,
and the main event.

This year Kenya was to field defending champions Kenya Shujaa, Kenya Morans, and the National
Sevens Series champions Menengai Oilers coached by former Shujaa playmaker Gibson Weru.