Soccer in the dust: The plight of budding footballers in Kitengela

Soccer in the dust: The plight of budding footballers in Kitengela

The time is 12 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. I receive a call from one of the match organizers at Kyang’ombe play grounds in Kitengela, Kajiado County.

Set for the day, I hop on to the next vehicle for Kitengela where a scorching heat greets my skin as soon as I alight. Located about three kilometers off the Nairobi-Namanga Road, Kyang’ombe grounds is the hub for budding football talent.

My visit is informed by the relatively high number of players churned out from this humble neighbourhood.

As the motorbike operator makes his way to the playing field, I cannot help but notice the sprouting development in the area. Young boys and girls chasing one another in what appears to be a game of street football-a popular sport in the area.

In no time, we arrive at the grounds but what I am welcomed to is far from what I was prepared for. The pitch has no goal posts, no clear markings, no grass.

“We started training in 2018. But as you can see, there is a challenge in improving our skills. The field is not to standard, but we soldier on,” says George Elwak, a coach at Kitengela Tigers FC.

As the match gets underway, a train snakes by smoothly along the SGR-in stark contrast to the bumpy nature of the field. Amid the gains made in taming the youth through sports, the sorry state of the field is a point of concern. For instance, the terrain is akin to a recently tilled land, restricting players to overhead corner kicks.

Nicholas Mala, a tactician at Sunrise FC notes that can’t help but single out the challenges that come with the sport at the Kyangombe grounds. “Bodaboda operators, cars, and passers-by force us to stop play once in a while. You can bear me witness. The number of motorists cutting across the field is worrisome,” he said.

Dennis Oloo, a beneficiary of the local academy, has seen his life turnaround and now boasts of a secondary school scholarship. David Sakwa is also a beneficiary points out that since he joined the team, he has kept off bad company and drugs besides other social ills.

As the sun sank, kissing the day goodbye, we reached out to Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku who cited challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for the delay in constructing stadia in his county.

He added that they will dig into the supplementary budget to deliver on their pledge.”All the material needed is in the country. We will check with our budgetary team to see if we can set aside some funds to take care of our people in Kitengela,” Lenku said.

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Kajiado County Kitengela

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