Mighty Eagles Academy land Sweden invite, appeal for funds
Mighty Eagles Academy is had landed an invite to feature in the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Kenyan academy will compete at the international football event in July 2023.
Moses Zewedi, The Kitale-based academy director, says the youth team will use the Gothenburg tour to gain the required exposure and has appealed to well-wishers to help sponsor the trip.
“The dream to play in the Gothia Cup started when we heard about the tournament from another academy in Nairobi. Upon researching the tournament, we felt that this is a great opportunity to give our talented young team. They can showcase their talents with great exposure, as they will be interacting with players from different nations. We are struggling to afford the trip for over 20 players and five leaders,” Zewedi said in an interview.
Mighty Eagles Academy was established in 2019 and it engages young people from different villages with poor backgrounds in the region. According to Zewedi, who is also the founder, the academy is committed to nurturing football talents from the ages of 8 years to 20 years old for both boys and girls. The academy has been involved in different tournaments and matches in Kitale and other neighboring regions and boasts of talented boys and girls who are also able to secure High School scholarships as they play and participate in their school teams.
The team is under the tutelage of head coach Sammy Ochami who alongside Zewedi, is both a trained and licensed coach with credentials from the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and international body FIFA.
Zewedi noted that they have engaged different stakeholders and the local leadership for fundraising from corporate groups, companies, and individuals as the team keeps the hope of participating in the Gothia Cup 2023 alive.
“Their main goal is to get the required funds and handed these talented youngsters an opportunity to play against some of the established academies in the world. I think our team team will succeed at the event depending on what I see during practices and matches against other local teams. We have a team of the most talented and determined young people whereby I’m sure that in case of any availability of the scouting during the tournament, several players from the team will be spotted. During our local matches and tournaments, Mighty Eagles Academy always focuses on the final and the Gothia Cup won’t be any different. Right to Dream Academy, our brothers from Ghana, should know that we’re coming for them,” Zewedi said.
“What we’re looking forward to the most is to showcase our talents, win the title, build friends, and become a Gothia Cup family for future engagements in the tournament,” He added.
Zewedi advised more Kenyan youth teams to take part in the tournament to gain the much-required exposure and nurture talent.
Among other Kenya teams that are scheduled to participate in this year’s Gothia Cup tournament include the Homabay-based Michael Olunga Foundation Academy (MOFA).
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