Kenya's U18 women's rugby sevens team to get KSh250,000 each for Youth Olympics gold, Sports PS says

Sports Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi announced on 7 November that the government will pay each member of Kenya's under-18 women's rugby sevens team, the Rising Lionesses, KSh250,000 for winning gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar. He spoke at a dinner he hosted for the team, according to KBC, Citizen Digital and Eastleigh Voice.

The award falls under the government's enhanced cash-award scheme for Youth Olympic team wins. Eastleigh Voice put the rates at KSh250,000 for each member of a gold-winning team, KSh175,000 for silver and KSh75,500 for bronze. It said team-sport players had previously received KSh50,000 for gold, KSh30,000 for silver and KSh20,000 for bronze.

The team beat Australia 17-12 in golden point extra time in the final on 3 November. The sides were level at 12-12 at full time. After Australian errors gave Kenya an attacking chance, Mitchelle Chemtai scored in the corner for the winning try, RugbyPass reported.

Mwangi told the players: "We are extremely proud of your performance. You went to Dakar and left with Kenya's first-ever gold medal for a team sport at the Olympics." He said: "From this team, we have what it takes to win top-level competitions: HSBC Division 1 and the World Championships." He urged the Kenya Rugby Union and other stakeholders to nurture the players' talent, and said the government is investing in infrastructure to help young athletes grow.

The team captain said, as quoted by Citizen Digital: "It was an honor to play for the country and we gave it our best. As a result, we got the gold. We are very happy." She said the Dakar experience was critical for the team's growth and exposure.

The head of the Kenya Rugby Union said the union is committed to pursuing sporting excellence and getting national teams to compete at the highest level.

The Games in Dakar are the first Youth Olympics held in Africa, and the rugby sevens title is Kenya's first gold of the Games.