Team Kenya fans celebrating in the Stadium
Photography by Sarah Ochwada
KENYA’S FIRST SPORTS LEGISLATION
The Sports Act was passed by Parliament and assented by the President in January 2013. Its purpose is to harness sports for development, encourage and promote drug-free sports and recreation, establish sports institutions and provide for administration and management of sports and sports facilities countrywide. On the date of posting this article, the Sports Act is yet to be published by the Government Printers.
Here are a few highlights of the provisions in our Sports Act:
A. ESTABLISHMENT OF SPORTS INSTITUTIONS
- Sports Kenya– this body shall be established to: promote, coordinate, and implement grassroots sports; maintain sports facilities; establish and maintain sports museums, promote sports tourism, identify and develop sports talent, prepare teams for competitions, recommend tax exemptions for sports persons.It shall take over the functions of the current Sports Stadia Management Board (SSMB) which shall be dissolved once Sports Kenya’s interim management committee is put in place. Sports Kenya shall be managed by a Board headed by a Director General.
- National Sports Fund– the Sports Fund shall be established to provide financial support for sportspersons and sports organizations. It is mandated to receive proceeds from the national Sports Lottery and from proceeds of any other investments. The Sports Fund shall be administered by a Board of Trustees.
- Kenya Academy of Sports– the Sports Academy shall: establish and manage sports training academies; coordinate sports courses; and promote research and development of sports. It shall take over the functions of the Kenya National Sports Institute (KNSI). It shall be administered by a Council headed by a Chief Executive Officer.
- Sports Registry– the Sports Registrar shall be in charge of registration and regulation of sports clubs, county sports associations, and national sports organizations as well as the licensing of professional sports and professional sportspersons. All sports affiliated organizations are required to transition from registration at the Registrar of Societies within a year of establishment of the office of the Sports Registrar.
- Sports Disputes Tribunal– this tribunal shall be an extension of the Judiciary with special mandate to determine disputes related to sports and sports organizations, and APPEALS against decisions made by national sports organizations or umbrella national sports organizations whose rules specifically allow for appeals to the Tribunal. The types of decisions envisioned include disciplinary decisions, decisions of the Sports Registrar, or not being selected for a Kenyan team or squad.
B. FINANCING OF SPORTS INSTITUTIONS
The sources of funds for the established Sports Institutions include: funds appropriated by Parliament, funds accruing from investments, gifts, grants, loans or donations.
A five(5)-year Sports Investment Program shall be prepared by the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Sports in consultation with the Sports Fund Board of Trustees to outline the development and maintenance priorities of stadia facilities, and training programs to be financed by the Sports Fund.
Annual estimates of Sports Institutions and audit of their accounts shall be done in Accordance with the Public Audit Act, 2003.
C. MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE CONSTITUTIONS OF SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS
The Constitution of a body seeking registration must provide for:
- Direct election of officials and athletes’ representatives at national, branch and sub-branch level by members.
- Only Kenyan citizens are eligible for elections as chairperson, secretary or treasurer of a body at the national level.
- Elections of officials to be held every four (4) years, and elected officials to hold office for a maximum of four (4) years but may be eligible to be elected for only one (1) further term of four (4) years.
- Subscription to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) anti-doping policies, and in compliance with anti-doping rules and requirements of the National Anti-Doping Organization.
- Subscription to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) policies and rules which conform to requirements set out in Sports Disputes Tribunal policy and rules for dispute resolution.
- Definition of sportsperson’s manager/ sportsperson’s agent/ sportsperson’s representatives and provision for rules or policies of their registration.
D. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES
The Act provides for the protection of the names of the Sports Institutions. Any person who without written consent assumes for the purpose of business, or registers a company name or business name under Sports Kenya, Kenya Academy of Sports, or Sports Fund commits an offence and is liable on conviction to six (6) months imprisonment or a fine of up to one hundred thousand shillings (Kshs 100,000).
Post by Sarah Ochwada- Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, Nairobi-Kenya
Follow @SnoLegal on twitter
SnoLegal 
hey sarah, i love your article im doing a brief on setting up a youth academy, does it fall under the abit of a sports organisation.
Thanks, Sharon. That’s a good question, and the answer is…it depends.
Is the youth academy for sports training or is it for the development of other talents? If it is for the development of other talents then it could very well fall under education, or arts and culture.
The drafters of the Sports Act did not define the term “sports organization” and so the members of the implementation committee have to interpret it for themselves. So far this is what they came up with; a sports organization is any entity whose core function is sports as a discipline for recreational, amateur or professional purposes. From this definition a sports organization may include a sports federation/association/union, sports club, sports management firm, limited company which controls sports, or a sports development or training academy.
The only exceptions to this interpretation that I can think of are sports broadcasters and companies which deal in sports merchandise.
Hope this helps, tell me if you need more information.
Thank you for the article. Please advise on where to fetch the application (for registration) forms. Asante
Hi,
You may want to visit the Sports Registrar’s office- NSSF Building Wing A 24th Floor. Hopefully you will get all you need from there.
this is an amazing article good job
Great work as always! Would be willing help me access current constitutions of couple of federations that features in my research? emailing them would be great!
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