National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) President Dr. Paul Tergat will on Thursday lead a delegation of some of his Executive members to Miramas, south of France in the city of Marseille on an official visit, NOC-K has confirmed.
The visit is a follow up of engagement towards the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a host of Parties, led by the Miramas commune towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Others expected to be part of the MOU include the Stadium Miramas Metropole.
The endeavour aligns with NOC-K’s strategic direction for the year 2022-2024, in which, among others, seeks to strengthen sports diplomacy and international relations.
During NOC-K Executive annual retreat and strategic review in 2021, an Executive Sub-Committee – International Relations and Strategic Partnerships Sub-Committee was established with the mandate to develop partnerships for the development of NOC-K affiliate sports.
Miramas is one of the key outcomes arising from some of the efforts put so far.
Early in the year, a team from the NOCK Executive were invited for initial and exploratory discussions in Miramas as well as an orientation into the facilities available for potential use after an Agreement.
The discussions have progressed to the next stage where the Miramas Host parties would like to engage in the finer details of the partnership with a view to signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NOC-K and subsequently get into an Agreement.
The primary objective of this partnership is to benefit individual athletes and teams in their preparation towards the Paris 2024 Olympics. But further than that, it is envisaged that this partnership will go beyond Paris 2024.
Detailed information of the partnership will be shared upon signing of the MOU among the involved parties.
However, upon signing of the particular MOU, Kenya will reap the following proposed benefits;
• Athletes training
• Coaches training
• Technical Support in sports and infrastructure development
• Exchange Programs
What is significant about this engagement is the fact that it was an affiliate-led process whereby NOC-K leveraged on affiliate existing relations with the club.
In April, 2022, a team of eleven junior sprinters and field event athletes travelled to France for a month-long training at Miramas Athletics Club. The majorly junior athletes were among those that represented Kenya at the World Under 20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.
The Miramas engagement is expected to encourage NOC-K affiliate members withn similar international relations networks to incorporate the NOCK Executive with a view to extending the scope to the wider sports community.
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