Athletics Kenya (AK) Kericho branch officials have lauded county government of Kericho for demonstrating it has Sports close to its heart.

The AK Kericho branch chairman Japheth Kemey and Secretary Lawrence Korir said the move will take sports especially athletics to the next level.

They praised Sports department in the county for rolling out talents search programme which is aimed at identifying children with sports talents across the county who will be nurtured and supported to exploit their talents to the fullest.

Speaking in Kericho town, the duo said it is a step in the right direction because there is a huge untapped talents in the county that have not been spotted saying the county administration has shown seriousness in uplifting the sector to greater heights.

“Sports for a long time has taken a back seat in our county yet it is one of the key sectors of economy. So we want to comment the new administration led by governor Erick Mutai for demonstrating they are ready to take sports to the next level,” said Korir.

Kericho County Executive committee member (CEC) for Sports, Youth Affairs and Information Communication Technology (ICT) Daniel Rop revealed last week that his department has embarked on talent search in line with taking the sports to the next level.

Rop had said his department has started working closely with all Sports federations with a view of achieving or fulfilling the new plans.

The Chief Officer in the department Geoffrey Bett revealed that Paralympics sports will soon be introduced in the county in a bid to bring on board persons with disabilities to participate in sports.

The AK officials also thanked the department and other sponsors for sponsoring the just concluded Kericho County Track and Field event championships that was staged at the Kericho Green stadium.

The championships was used to pick a team to represent Kericho County during South Rift regional Track and Field events championships slated for this weekend at Ole Ntimama stadium in Narok County.

The participants will be from, Kericho, Bomet, Kajiado, Laikipia, Nakuru and Narok counties.