The County government of Kiambu has trained 50 coaches who graduated with a Confederation of African Football (CAF) D Licence Coaching Course.
The sponsorship, which was done through the County Department of Youth Affairs, Sports, and Communication and was conducted by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Kiambu Branch, targeted coaches who had been practising as coaches but were not certified.
Kiambu Governor Kiamani Wamatangi, who graced the graduation ceremony of the 60 coaches, congratulated the graduates and indicated that the coaches will be useful in the ongoing identification and selection of the Kiambu County Football Talent Search.
“I am glad that the county now has certified coaches who will help us identify talented boys and girls under the age of 19 at the grassroot level who will have the opportunity to represent Kiambu County in the Talanta Hela football tournament,” said Wamatangi.
Wamatangi added that Kiambu is now among the few counties that have trained their coaches with CAF D, a course certified by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) meant for grassroots coaches to help them acquire proper knowledge and skills to improve the standards of football in the counties.
“This is just the beginning; we are planning to sponsor more football coaches before the year ends to ensure that our youth are being trained by qualified and certified coaches.”
The governor also noted that he is working hand in hand with the Department of Youth and Sports to ensure that sports infrastructure in Kiambu County is top-notch.
“We have already issued tenders for the construction, rehabilitation, and renovation of various playgrounds and stadiums,” said Governor Wamatangi. “We are committed to providing our athletes with the best possible facilities.”
In addition, he also promised to support sports in Kiambu County by paying football affiliation fees for three teams in every ward.
“I will be sponsoring the Kiambu Karate team to Germany to represent Kiambu County in the Germany International Tournament; plans are also under way to start the Kiambu County Supercup football tournament soon,” said Wamatangi.
On his part, the County CECM for Youth Affairs, Sports, and Communication, Ali Osman, cited that the 60 trained coaches were selected from all around the county to ensure uniformity in the training of players in the whole county.
“This training took a span of ten days, and the participants gained valuable knowledge on various topics, including getting to know their players, football history, youth football, game formats, football structures, and team functions, among other things,” said Osman.
By Grace Naishoo
