Preparations for Africa Beach Games begin in Malindi

National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) is set to host 13 sports disciplines in Kilifi County on March 18-19 for a Beach Games event set to kick start preparations for the Africa Beach Games.

Set for Buntwani Park in Malindi, the event is a first of its kind.

NOC-K executive toured the venue of the event last weekend with Secretary General Francis Mutuku, revealing that this will also be part of the committee’s initiative to popularize beach versions of sports in the country.  

“Players will use the event to prepare for the second edition of the African Beach Games set to be hosted in Tunisia from 14 to 23 June 2023,” Mutuku said.

The first Africa Beach Games were held on the island of Sal, Cape Verde, in June 2019.

“This is a good opportunity for federations to establish their beach versions of their respective sport. We have most of our federations turning to players who are not trained for beach sports whenever there is a need to come up with teams.

This is a chance to create active leagues in beach sport and popularize the same so that we have a pool to choose from for international competitions,” Mutuku added.

In Kenya, only handball has an active league. Volleyball may be the most successful beach sport in Kenya as the country has participated at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and at the Olympics, but most of the players are involved in indoor volleyball too.

The two-day event has been backed by the Kilifi County government.