St. Philip Neri School unveils state-of-the-art sports facilities in Machakos

Slovakia Ambassador to Kenya, Malos Mitrick, who was the chief guest during the event hailed the milestone saying the facility would be a hub for healthy living, community engagement, and athletic excellence.

“Slovakia has been supporting the projects from the beginning. My colleagues were here more than 10 years ago when the first walls were built. And I personally was here two and a half years ago and nothing that you can see behind me has been standing at that time.”

“Education in Kenya is one of the priority sectors for Slovakia. And I think that this project is evidence of our commitment and our friendship with Kenyan partners. Yes, we will try to support Kenyan institutions and organisations in the future as well.

“In January 2025 we adopted a new medium-term strategy for development cooperation where Kenya is one of the top three priority countries for our project. So I think that we will meet each other in the future in other projects like this,” he added.

The school’s director Nicodemus Kimuli said the swimming pool and the football tuff would cultivate, guide, and showcase the sports heroes of tomorrow.

“It's a proud moment, historic for St. Philip Neri as a school. Today we are launching our sports complex consisting of a swimming pool, a semi-Olympic one, meeting all the international standards. We are launching our AstroTurf football pitch, which will give our learners a very huge opportunity to earn their football skills,” he said.

Kimuli added that the facility was open for the community around, especially when schools are closed.

“And of course it's a very big moment for the school because we've called all the parents, all the kids, to have a touch and a connection with this stuff. This stuff and the swimming pool are not only facilities that are going to benefit St. Philip Neri learners. We are opening our doors for the community around us.”

The Director also said the facilities were the perfect platform for learners aspiring to be world beaters in sports to launch their career strongly as well as representing the school locally and internationally.

“We have actually extended an invitation to our parents to enjoy this facility for free, especially during the evening, at times when school is not using it. The community is well invited to have the opportunity to use the pool during weekends, especially when the learners are not using it. Therefore, we are looking at a facility that has elevated not only the school but the community at lunch,” he added.

The event was also graced by the Secretary General of Kenya Aquatics Collins Marigiri—whose presence was a testament to the seriousness and scale of what the school intends to achieve in sports.

With world-class coaching and consistent support, Marigiri said aquatic greatness in Kenya was no longer a pipedream.

“This is a very good facility and it will be a game changer to the Machakos County, and not only in the Machakos but to the nation as a whole because we don't have very many standard pools in the country.

“Looking at the facility that we have opened here today is a standard pool semi-olympic which is 25 metres and this pool will be able to host county events as well as the national events because our goal as the national federation is to devolve these pools to various counties.”