Ex-Kenyan defender Kwarula gifts equipment to Young Stars academy
Former Kenyan footballer Vincent Kwarula has undertaken to mentor aspiring footballers attached to the Young Stars academy in Kakamega County.
For a start, Kwarula who is based in the USA at the weekend distributed uniforms, boots, and footballs to the age-group academy.
“I have decided to take the team on my wings. I intend to take it as my academy team. I am working on registering it with Football Kenya Federation (FKF),” he explained.
He added: “These are talented youngsters who remind me where I came from. I did not have much equipment and I believe by extending the goodwill, these players can become the best there is.”
His philanthropic actions come at a time when the national football team is struggling to deliver, after a disappointing 5-0 defeat to Mali in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
“We have the talents in Kenya. Our work is to look for them and offer them direction. Prepare them for the task of playing football at a competitive level.”
Now retired, Kwarula, a former Harambee Stars and Kenya Breweries (now Tusker FC) defender, is currently based in the USA where he works as a physical education teacher and coach at a renowned football academy in New York.
The ex-international who also owns the Kwarula Society for Education was part of the Kenya Breweries team that made history by securing qualification to the finals of the 1994 Africa Cup Winners Cup following wins over Seychelles side ANSE Reunion and Gabon’s Mbilinga FC in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.
He also formed part of the Harambee Stars squad, managed by the late former German coach Reinhard Fabisch, which narrowly missed qualifying for the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup.
He then quit football aged 30 and relocated to the USA where he graduated with a bachelor of business administration degree at Southern Connecticut State University and a Master’s degree in the same field at the Manhattan Bille College in New York.