Safaricom Limited are back in football sponsorship through the My Professional Dream (MPD) Academies after announcing a Sh50m sponsorship deal with United Kingdom based academy.
The one-year Safaricom Next Generation programme, which was launched yesterday at the Safaricom House, Nairobi, will be used to identify and nurture football talent through-out the country.
The programme will adopt a holistic approach to developing talent in youngsters aged between 11 and 16 years and plans to admit 75 boys and an equal number of girls into an elite football coaching academy within the coming weeks.
“Kenya has huge amount of unfound talent, which is currently not developed.
“Our main goal as MPD is to see them become professional not necessarily as a player but also as a coach or a physiotherapist,” said Terry O’Neill, MPD Academies chairman during the launch.
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“The difference between our programme and other talent searches that have been organised in Kenya is that it takes a long-term approach that is sustainable and goes beyond rewarding an individual player with a short trip to an international football club.”
To avoid the influence of third parties and ensure the success of the programme, O’Neill said that the exercise that kicks-off on October 10 will be conducted by Uefa qualified coaches and former international professional coaches from countries such as England, Nigeria and Portugal.
“We don’t want the programme to be influenced by anybody and that’s why we have planned to fly in qualified Uefa coaches with different aspects on the game.
We believe our connection with some of the best academies in the world will make it a success,” said O’Neill.
“Kenya is currently ranked 116, and our aim is to get that improved. We believe that the selected players will go ahead to play for the national teams.
Though tough, I know it is going to be an exciting journey.
“We will stage matches, behind closed doors. When they are ready, they will play against top academies in the world.
“The reality is, we will miss some talent, but we will come back in future. The ultimate goal is to give as many scholarships as possible. We are here to stay,” he said.
