Kiambu Town MP Machua Waithaka has pledged to continue investing in grassroots sports development despite the withdrawal of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) allocation for sports, saying the funding gap will not derail efforts to identify and nurture talent among young people.
The legislator has announced plans to host a constituency wide pool table tournament on December 5, 2026, in another initiative aimed at expanding opportunities for local players to showcase their abilities and compete for recognition.
The tournament is part of a broader sports development programme through which Mr Waithaka says he intends to support emerging talent and provide platforms for young people to participate in organised competitions.
Interested participants have been invited to register at the Kiambu NG-CDF offices at Tower Building, second floor, in Kiambu Town.
To qualify, applicants must be residents and registered voters of Kiambu Constituency and submit copies of their national identity cards during registration.
The pool tournament adds to a series of indoor sporting activities introduced by the MP as he seeks to widen the range of sporting disciplines receiving attention beyond traditional outdoor games.
In July, Mr Waithaka launched the inaugural Machua Waithaka Annual Indoor Games Championship at the Ndumberi Jitume ICT Hub, bringing together participants in several disciplines, including table tennis, badminton, chess, scrabble, darts, draughts and dance.
The championship was designed to provide an organised platform for identifying gifted individuals, particularly young people who may not have access to established sporting facilities or opportunities to participate in competitive events.
Speaking during the launch, Mr Waithaka said the long term ambition was to identify promising talent at the grassroots and create opportunities for participants to advance to higher levels of competition.
“We want to identify talent early and create pathways for our youth to grow into national, African and world champions,” he said.
The MP’s latest initiative comes against the backdrop of changes in the financing of sports development following the scrapping of the NG-CDF sports kitty in 2023, which left sports development largely under county governments.
The withdrawal of the allocation has created an additional funding challenge for grassroots sporting activities, particularly in constituencies where local tournaments and talent identification programmes previously relied on NG-CDF support.
However, Mr Waithaka says the funding changes will not prevent him from supporting sports development, indicating that he will continue pursuing alternative arrangements through personal initiatives and support from well wishers.
His approach places emphasis on indoor games, which often require different infrastructure and resources from conventional outdoor sporting activities but provide opportunities for individuals with diverse abilities and interests.
The planned pool tournament is expected to bring together players from across Kiambu Constituency, offering them an opportunity to compete while raising the profile of a discipline that has attracted growing interest among young people.
The initiatives also highlight the importance of sustained investment in grassroots sports, particularly in providing accessible competition platforms, developing emerging talent and creating pathways through which local players can progress to county, national and international events.
For Kiambu’s aspiring pool players, the December 5 tournament will provide another opportunity to demonstrate their skills as the constituency expands its efforts to promote sporting talent despite the absence of a dedicated NG-CDF sports allocation.
