Sports Monthly -- Briefs

Sadili’s sports science students graduate

Sadili Oval have taken their sporting activities a notch higher by establishing a sports coaching and training centre which offers a wide variety of courses that include Teacher Training and Sports Science.

Established in January 2006 through the French Embassy’s Social Fund for Development, the training centre whose objective is to promote poverty eradication and gender equality among the under-priviledeged in Kenya, saw its first fifty graduants pass out in June 2007. During the graduation ceremony, the Ambassador of France in Kenya Elisabeth Barbier outlined the need to engage the youth in meaningful projects “because they could become a source of crisis if they are left without any perspective.”

She mentioned French footballers David Trezeguet and Zinedine Zidane and Kenya’s Dennis Oliech as some of those who have proved that sports pay and it was possible to make a living out of it.“Your graduation is the first of its kind and this marks a successful partnership between the French Embassy and Sadili Oval and Malezi Foundation in establishing the Malezi Sports College. The Principal of Malezi College Dr Elizabeth Odera, Commissioner of Sports Gordon Oluoch and the Chairman, Malezi Foundation A.J. Odera graced the ocassion among others.

Cyclists for charity rally

The newly-formed Ronald Ngala Foundation recently held a cycling rally aimed at raising Sh3 million to help the displaced families of Kilifi District. The five-day rally covered 520km was flagged off at Nyayo Stadium on June 11 and ended at Mombasa Municipal Stadium on June 17, 2007.

The Foundation’s chairperson and founder Ms Elizabeth Sada Ngala said that the rally targeted to raise Sh2 million for food, Sh500, 000 for medicine and Sh500, 000 for clothing. A total of 15 cyclists participated in the rally among them renowned Kenyan cyclists Stephen Mwangi, Kennedy Oganda, Stephen Mwaniki and Eric Kimani.

The Ronald Ngala Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organisation that was named after the late Ronald Gideon Ngala, who played a key role in the political struggle in the country’s transition from colonial to self-independence. During the five-day race, the cyclists made overnight stopovers at Kibwezi, Mtito Andei, Voi and Mariakani.

Kenya juniors in Sweden tourney

Despite the squabbles and the never ending board-room ousters of leaders that are now a common phenomenon in Kenyan football, a positive move towards a better future started showing up when Kenya was represented by an Under 12 football team to an event dubbed the Gothia International Youth Championships held in Gothenburg, Sweden in July.

Kenya was represented by two teams, Mwenge FC and the ‘Ujuzi Soka’ Soccer Academy, a football academy aimed at uplifting the standards of soccer in the country by tapping young talent and nurturing them to future stardom.

The Ujuzi team was picked after a series of training sessions in different slum areas of Nairobi and at the academy’s centre, which is based at Juja preparatory school, in Thika.

Ujuzi coaches led by former Kenyan International goalkeeper Matthew Ottomax Owino picked a multi-talented Eugene Moses to Captain the Kenyan team much to a surprise from the young boy from Nairobi’s Ziwani estate and who recently won a scholarship to join the academy. Moses much impressed the coaches by his virtue of high discipline as well as his dribbling skills all through the training sessions and clearly deserved the chance to lead the young Kenyan contingent.

The Kenyan boys played against other teams from major soccer academies in Europe and America including boys from Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Arsenal among others during the tournament. The Ujuzi U-12 team started off on the right footing by demolishing hosts Ekilsminne IF a merciless 6-1 in an authoritative show of might. The young stars’ triumph was nonetheless short-lived as they bowed out of the tournament after an abrupt, ruthless defeat by ABC Paris who according to the coaches played “a very rough game”. Earlier, they had forced a 1-1 draw with Sweden’s Haljarps IF after the Swedish boys had threatened to thrash them after they had taken an early lead.

A disappointed Ottomax said, after his Tuskys team was bundled out the match against ABC was an unfair game and lamented over what he termed as a very bad idea to teach the young boys such unfair tactics of playing rough on the opponents’ outstanding players to weaken them like the what they did to defender Eugene Moses forcing him out of the pitch with a serious knee injury.

The Kenyan contingent included forty-three boys of different ages with the under-15 squad being captained by Rushbash Shah While Joram Mukuha held the captain’s band for the under-18 side.

The teams were accorded sponsorship from the corporate community with Supermarket chain, Tuskys, donating a total sum of Sh750, 000 to meet the air fair for the boys as well as full accommodation for Moses and yet another boy, Calton Ofula who hails from the same estate as Moses. Among other sponsors was Tintoria Executive Laundry, which donated playing kits.

The move is definitely one of those in the right direction and aiming for the stars is the ultimate goal for this noble initiative in helping improve the standards of soccer in the country where football is a dream to reach good heights as those with teams in both West and North of Africa.

Teams Clinch Top Regional Prizes

July saw a great deal of good steps forward taken to improve the standards of soccer in the country. Concurrently with the annual secondary schools ball games, an inaugural tournament dubbed the Copa Coca Cola went underway inviting participation of schools from all over the Country. The tournament, organised and sponsored by Coca Cola Company, invited young talents organised in school teams to take part in the competition organised into regions and played by a massive number of secondary schools from across the national divide.

The tournament attracted both male and female teams. In the Nairobi grand final, boys category, Langata High School walked away with the provincial prize of Sh100, 000 after they seeing off St Elizabeth Academy, Karen with a 2-0 goal margin at the Langata grounds.

Earlier, provincial heavyweights Kamukunji High School - whose campaigns in both School games and the tournament never lived to expectations- had started by posting mixed results after being held to a barren draw by Euticus before going on to beat Kayole Secondary 2-0 in one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament, and in which they had the absolute control. Though favourites, they bowed from the competition and let the real men be distinguished from the boys as the tournament fast came to a close. Girls from Langata too emerged winners upon a huge hammering of Shauri Moyo, 3-1

In Nyeri, Aguthi Boys High School carried the day when they went all the way to scoop the region’s title and the eventual top prize of Sh100, 000. The upbeat Aguthi had to see off yet another worthy contender and big opponent Giakanja High School in a final that was determined on post-match penalties after a goal-less tie at Nyeri Technical Training Institute. And as if to ascertain the intensity of the competition in the region, Giakanja had been held to yet another draw by Nyahururu Elite in the semis, forcing the match to be determined on post-match penalties where they carried the day with a 4-2 victory.

Gatugi Girls made the best of the tournament by putting up an unshakable campaign that pulled an unbeaten record and winning the competition in the process. Juliah Gichuku’s goal helped an upbeat Gatugi edge out an equally challenging Birithia to clinch the title. Yet another barren draw between Birithia and Muruguri forced the semi final match go to post-match penalties, which saw Birithia emerge victorious with a 4-3. Gatugi, like the rest of the winners, too, walked away with the Sh100, 000 prize money among other prizes.

Mosisa Girls Bagged the victory amid controversy that saw a semi-final match between Mosisa and Mochengo replayed in Kisii. Mochengo had beaten Mosisa 2-1 but the latter appealed against the match alleging their opponents had fielded ineligible players. Mosisa won the replay 1-0, to advance to the finals where they went on to hammer Bishop Okullu Magare 1-0. Itierio High School beat Kisii High to walk away as Boys’ champions.

Khamis High piped St Charles Lwanga 1-0 to carry the day in Mombasa. At the same time, Waa Secondary school punished Moi Forces Academy 3-0 at the finals to emerge as Girls’ champions.

In the North Rift, Uasin Gishu High School and Korotet secondary clinched the Boys and Girls titles when the region’s meet went to Wareng High School.