The Lower Eastern region under-19 Talanta Hela Football Tournament officially kicked off Wednesday at Unoa grounds in Wote town, Makueni.
The programme is an initiative from the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Heritage, supported by both the national and all the county governments, and is expected to spur sports development.
Some 16 teams of both boys and girls from Makueni, Kitui, Embu, and Machakos counties are participating in the event, which will end this Friday.
The bottom-up tournament aims to nurture young talents at the grassroots level, which is expected to enhance the growth of sports in the country.
Makueni County Executive Member (ECM) for Gender, Youths, and Sports, Nicholas Nzioka, said the programme will unlock sports talent among the youth and nurture .
“We are preparing and expecting that these are talents that will represent our country in sports in the future,” noted Nzioka while officially launching the tournament. He was accompanied by his Kitui ECM counterpart, Phoebe Mutemi.
“We expect a high level of discipline and fair play,” he added.
The programme will also recruit talented youths in sports and train them while offering them exposure and life skills.
The host Makueni football team kicked off the competition against the Kitui County Boys.
Other guests who graced the event include Makueni Football Kenya Federations (FKF) and Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) officials.
By Ronald Rono
