IN SEARCH OF TALENT: Hundreds of players attend Betway trials

BETWAY TALENT SEARCH Dennis Oliech and Francis Kimanzi during the Betway Talent Search at Goan Institute on Saturday October 15, 2016. [PHOTO: STAFFORD ONDEGO/WWW.SPORTPICHA.CO.KE]

A total of 88 players have been picked for the final round of the Betway Talent Search during trials held at Goan Institute over the weekend.

The final round out of which 16 players will be picked to attend a training camp organised by West Ham coaches is set to take place in November.

Another round of trials will be done on October 29 and 30 also at Goan Institute. Mathare United coach Francis Kimanzi, who was involved in the weekend selection process expressed confidence that it has met its objectives.

“It was Betway’s objective to look at talented players who have never had a platform to showcase their talent and in this case that has been met,” he said.

Kimanzi urged those who did not make it not to give up but to continue working hard wherever they are.

“The trials gave everyone a chance to be seen and even those who were not selected should not give up but to continue to work hard as they wait for more opportunities in future,” he said.

The event attracted more than 400 players over the two day period and they all braved the scorching sun to try and impress the coaches.

It was not just Nairobi-based players who turned up for the trials but others travelled hundreds of kilometers to have an opportunity to be seen by the coaches.

Simon Mkalla from Mombasa was among those who turned up for the trials and was picked as one of the 44 players who have made it to the final round of trials.

“I heard about the talent search and I decided to try my luck. I am glad to have made it and hope I can go all the way and get an opportunity to play abroad,” he said.

He was accompanied to the trials by his friend Salim Swaleh who says his friends urged him to try out.

“I am a good footballer and when my friends heard about the search, they urged me to try out. It worked for me.”

For Kisumu based Ibrahim Odiwuor the first thing he did when he heard about the talent search on the media was to dash out and buy a Sh20 bundle of data to help him register. Well, he was not disappointed and the 400km he traveled from Kisumu was worth every trouble.

Benjamin Kingau said the competition was tough and he did not know whether he would make it. For the Kitui based goalkeeper training under well reknown coaches Francis Kimanzi and Salim Ali was always going to be intimidating.

“When I heard that Kimanzi and Ali will be conducting the trials, I was at first intimidated but decided to try anyway and I am glad it has turned out well. From here, my target is to end up in Europe,” he said.