FC Amagoro received a big boost on Tuesday, with hotelier Susan Omasete kitting them with two sets of uniforms ahead of the Busia County league that will kick off on October 21, 2023.
The team, which is popularly known as the Flickering Flames, finished second in the Teso North Sub County League with 56 points, four points behind the Kakurikit Bullets.
“I am an ardent fan of FC Amagoro, Gor Mahia, and Arsenal. I thought it wise instead of watching Arsenal and Gor Mahia on the screen, I have a team near home in FC Amagoro,” she said, noting that it’s good to plough back into the community through corporate social responsibility.
She added, “I bought two sets of uniforms to be used by my team in their home and away matches when the county league gets underway next month; I wish them the best of luck in their pursuit for glory.”
Omasete said the overwhelming support the club got from the local fan base saw it upset the formbook to finish second in the sub-county league, urging them to keep the fire burning to enable the team to emerge champions of the county.
“We need to continue with the support we exhibited during the team’s participation in the sub-county league lest we kill talents that the flickering flames are synonymous with,” Omasete said.
She sent a passionate plea to referees to execute their duties professionally: “If FC Amagoro deserves position two, let it get it instead of position four. Give a team the right position it deserves instead of subjecting it to frustrations through biased officiating.”
FC Amagoro boasts four players who represented the county in this year’s Kenya Youth Interco-Unties Sports Association (KYISA) Games in Meru under Victor Ochakala as head coach, taking fourth place.
FC Amagoro coach Francis Otwane said the club, which had been promoted to the regional league, opted out owing to financial constraints. We then decided to play sub-branch league to make us relevant, and we finished second.”
He added, “We are set for the gruelling county league, having complied with the FIFA Connect system. We are aiming to capture position one or two, hoping to be promoted to the regional league after the end of the season,” Otwane said.
He went on: “We are not leaving anything to chance. I am bringing the youth together to keep them busy to avoid involvement in drug abuse, which has escalated in the region.”
He thanked the fan base of Amagoro and other well-wishers for the support, and Susan for the new jerseys, declaring that they will not just participate in the county league but compete, noting that their ambition is to excel and sell the name of the hotel by using the flickering flames as a crown to conquer their opponents.
Football Kenya Federation Teso North Sub branch chairman Victor Ochakala said CSR is the little kind gesture that the community needs, noting that Susan’s donation of two quality sets of uniforms imported from Dubai was a blessing worth praise.
“This is a blessing to the sub-county, coming less than a fortnight after another donation of a set of uniforms by the Principal Administrative Secretary in the President’s Executive Office, Arthur Osiya, to Kakurikit and Moding Football clubs.
“As a federation, we are using football as a rehabilitation centre, with football being played in all villages in the sub-county, recalling how a mother of a player praised the federation for the gesture that saw her son get married owing to high discipline depicted by engaging him in football activities,” he said.
Ochakala urged members of the County Assembly to emulate Susan by improving primary school fields that their teams use as their home grounds for various leagues.
By Absalom Namwalo
