FKF, Fifa launch mobile application to aid young footballers
Aspiring footballers in Kenya will now be able to make use of digital platforms to nurture their talents.
This follows a move by FIFA, football’s world governing body, and Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to launch a mobile application that will aid coaches to train footballers aged below 14 towards mapping a career from the game.
Speaking at the launch in Kakamega, FKF president Nick Mwendwa challenged primary school teachers to make the most of the application.
“Football is a well paying career. Which is why we have a responsibility to develop as many footballers as possible so as to offer them jobs and make our national teams able to compete in Africa and the world. There are no shortcuts here,” stressed Mwendwa.
“Now we have a chance to do it digitally. The teachers, who spend most of the time with kids, have their work cut out,” added the football boss.
The application, dubbed F4S, is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple Store. It is an online learning platform with relevant content for the F4S program’s stakeholders, among them the coaches.
It contains detailed content and guidance on managing and delivering F4S activities to boys and girls aged 4-7, 8-11 and 12-14 which combine football with life skills.
The application can be accessed online using a stable internet connection.
Thereafter, session plans, both in video and text form, can be downloaded for offline use, anywhere across the country.
The F4S program is a joint initiative between FIFA and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Through the program, FIFA aims at impacting over 700 million children, both boys and girls, across the globe.
The program has been designed to promote targeted life skills and competencies through football and contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other priorities.
In Kenya, the program is set to directly benefit over 2,000 schools across the country. Participating schools are set to receive footballs and training equipment from FIFA through FKF. Furthermore, primary school teachers who are directly involved with the children shall be given priority in FKF’s coaching courses
To achieve this, 50 coach educators, selected from teachers across all 47 counties in the country, with a keen interest in primary school football, recently attended a three-day football and life skills training session in Kakamega and have successfully received their certifications.
Historically, children have faced a lack of proper training and access to necessary equipment.
Meanwhile, despite periodically producing some football stars such as Dennis Oliech, Macdonald Mariga, Victor Wanyama, Mike Okoth and Michael Olunga, Kenya has consistently struggled to compete on the continent and even in East Africa, a situation both Mwendwa and the government led by President William Ruto and Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba says has to change for the better.
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