South Rift readies squad for national Un13 Championships

The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) South Rift branch has already established their squad for the national Under-13 Youth Championships scheduled for April 22-23.

Branch secretary Abel Kirui revealed that sub-branches of Kericho, Bomet, Bureti, Transmara and Narok met in Bomet County where they formed the select side.

Last week, FKF announced they will use the tournament to select the final squad that will represent the country during the 2017 edition of the Southampton Cup slated for August 5-13.

“We have scouted for the right players and we believe we have picked the top cream. We have a lot hope that our players will be picked to play in the national team,” Kirui told Citizen Digital.

He lauded the FKF for their grassroots approach in football development as he backed the system to produce top talent that will act as feeders to the top league and the national team.

“Our world FIFA ranking will go higher because structures to improve the sport have been put in place across the country,” Kirui underscored.

He urged the smaller clubs at county level to register their teams with the FKF in order to help the national body capture players’ data.

“These data will be sent to our headquarters in Nairobi as we drive to boost the marketability of our players in the international market. This is a very positive step for Kenyan football,” Kirui offered.

He lamented the lack of sponsorship is limiting the growth of most teams in the country.

-Report by Kimutai Kering.