The Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Board has appointed Thomas Odundo as the Chief Executive Officer, effective July 2024. Odundo, who had been serving in an acting capacity, was confirmed in this position after a decision by the board.
Before his appointment, Odundo was the Director of Rugby at KRU for the past eight years, overseeing operations within the national teams’ setup as well as local leagues and tournaments.
With a deep understanding of the sport, he obtained his Level One and Two coaching certificates in 1998 and 2001, respectively.
He coached the Kenya Simbas from June 2004 to June 2006, during which time the team improved its IRB World Rankings from 49 to 37 and qualified for the second round of World Cup qualifiers for the first time.
During his tenure as Director of Rugby, Odundo, affectionately known as T.O., oversaw the Kenya Sevens team’s qualification for the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games.
He also led the Kenya U20 team to victories in the 2019 and 2024 Barthes Trophies, qualifying for the World Rugby U20 Trophy in Brazil and Scotland, respectively.
Additionally, under his guidance, the Kenya Lionesses 15s team qualified for the inaugural WXV3 tournament in 2023.
“I’m grateful to the KRU board for showing confidence in me and will do the job to the best of my ability. Being from within the setup, I fully understand the environment and am under no illusions about the task at hand. I will rely on the support of the able secretariat, the board, as well as all Kenyans who love the game of Rugby, the fans, spectators, clubs, players, match officials, and all technical persons involved, as well as sponsors and the Government of Kenya who greatly enable the game to be played. Thank you very much,” said Odundo.
Mr. Odundo is a certified Coach Educator with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton. He also has vast experience as an ICT practitioner, having worked in various companies.
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