Safaricom Next Generation footballers unveiled

Seventy-five boys and girls of the Safaricom Next Generation were unveiled on Wednesday at Nairobi’s My Professional Dreams (MPD) Academy of the Hillcrest International Schools following the culmination of the first realistic program of a co-ordinated countrywide talent search.

The mood married the optimism, from the officials to the parents of the selected youngsters, as communication giants Safaricom who are the sponsors of the MPD Academy operations and Football Kenya Federation (FKF) made a big statement of unprecedented cooperation and commitment to give the game a new look.

The 18-month program will see the 23 and 52 girls benefit from word class training by a team of four coaches; Mathew Arabia and Simon You both from England, James Muigai of Kenya who has been coaching in Denmark thoughout his career and English based Nigerian,Taiwan Opesan. The four are holders of UEFA B certificates.

Speaking at the event, FKF President Nick Mwendwa termed the initiative as a big move in changing the way Kenyan football is perceived, the way things are done and the way stakeholders think about development of the game.

“This initiative is about developing our youngsters, and we have said we are youth-centric association. We are not being told to give anything, we are just being told support this program,” said Mwendwa adding the journey to 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cup editions can only be driven through such initiatives.

Safaricom Director of Corporate Affairs, Steve Chege, noted the journey that started last year will go a long way in helping the young talented footballers to make a difference for themselves, priding in the fact that the criteria used to select them ultimately brought the face of Kenya to Hillcrest.

“It is a good thing that in the interim there has been positive changes at the FKF, and we are willing to work with the new president and the new management in this area,” Chege remarked.

Safaricom suspended involvement in football following their dispute with the previous FKF administration led by Sam Nyamweya when his office demanded 20 percent of the monies they intended to pump into Sakata Boli youth tournament as affiliation and logistics fee over three years ago.