Posta Rangers Assistant Captain Suleiman Osman has urged players to take up coaching courses to prepare for life once they retire from football.
Mr Ousman was speaking at the CAF D coaching course closing ceremony in BuruBuru organised by the Football Kenya Federation Nairobi East Branch. He is among 42 aspiring coaches that benefitted from the course and received certification.
He said players need to think about life after football.
“We as current active players should start emulating our European counterparts and begin taking these courses while we are still actively playing, so when it is time to hang our boots, we already have a clear idea of our next step,” said Mr Ousman.
He continued: “With the skills I have now acquired through this course combined with the skills I have acquired in my playing career, I will be able to effectively develop and nurture my team with the proper knowledge and skill.”
Former Bandari Player Max Odongo echoed the sentiments saying: “I formerly played at Western Stima, and during my time there got an Achilles tendon injury, when I moved to Bandari, I strained the injury which ended my football career. This took a toll on me since I was a young player and all I knew was playing football. Through talks with my coaches and club officials, I was able to get out of my depression. I decided to attend this course to begin my coaching journey.”
“Football has a lot of careers to pursue, apart from being a head coach, one can also be a Physio, Strength and Conditioning coach, speed coach, analyst, and a lot more,” he added.
The ten-day course was conducted by FIFA/FKF instructors George Mwangi and Salim Ali.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
