‘Fans to light up Safari Sevens’
Kenya Rugby Union CEO Thomas Odundo say fans will be Shujaa’s and Moran’s extra player when KRU host the elite Safari Sevens tournament at the Nyayo national stadium this weekend.
Welcoming the move by the government on Saturday to allow two-thirds of stadium capacity for the returning fans, Odundo expressed confidence of finalisation of the appropriate approvals.
“It’s good news and we are happy but it is not a 100 per cent confirmed but we are confident we will have fans back in the stadium.
We are seeking necessary approvals and once we do that, we will share more info on the fans entrance information as we prepare to stick to all given protocols.
“We plan to have three days days of entertaining rugby to be kicked off by age grade and the renowned veterans competitions this Friday and have the main event over the weekend,” Odundo told People Sports.
The tourney to go down on October 30-31 will be limited to approximately 20,000 fans where Shujaa boss Simiyu expects the returning fans to contribute to a memorable 12-team men’s and five-team women’s rugby extravaganza.
“We are excited to have fans back and this will definitely push the crowd’s favourite Morans and Shujaa to play well in front of their home crowd,” said Simiyu.
The men’s tournament will have two more local sides, The Kenya U-20 (Chipu) and the 2019 local sevens champions KCB.
Joining the fray are two World Sevens Series core sides and Kenya’s most recent opponents – Spain and Germany.
Spicing up the level of competition are the 2018 edition winners Samurai, Red Wailers, South Africa All Stars Sevens Academy, Nigeria’s stallions, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Prior to the news of allowing fans back to sporting events, Kenya Rugby Union had a day earlier asked the rugby fraternity to be patient as the union pursued the way forward.
“Despite all the challenges brought about by Covid-19, we have managed to put together a competitive field.
This year we are pleased that the event is happening. We are awaiting further direction from the Ministry of Sport with regard to spectators and I would like to urge the rugby fraternity to be patient, even as we await that direction,” said Odundo.
“We are also looking forward to seeing Shujaa playing. They had a good outing in Canada and this is an excellent opportunity to see the next crop of stars.”
come through the ranks. We are very confident about having an excellent event,” he added.
