World football governing body, Fifa will launch the Football for Schools (F4S) programme, an initiative set to benefit Kenyan primary schools.
The programme, a joint initiative with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), will be launched in Kakamega on Sunday.
FKF President Nick Mwendwa and the Fifa delegation led by Fatimata Sidibé – Football for Schools Director, Antonio Buenaño – Football for Schools Manager, and Melvin Mendy – Fifa Football for Schools trainee are expected in Kakamega for the launch.
Through the programme, Fifa aims at impacting over 700 million children, both boys and girls, across the globe.
The programme has been designed to promote targeted life skills and competencies through football and contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In Kenya, the programme is set to directly benefit over 2,000 schools across the country.
“Youth and women’s football remain key in FKF’s football development agenda. Since children spend most of their time in school, we believe that we can directly impact them through capacity building of our teachers with coaching education and provision of football equipment,” said Michael Amenga, FKF’s Head of Technical.
The programme kicks off on Friday with a three-day football and life skills training session for 50 coach educators, a selected group of teachers drawn from all 47 counties across the country, who have an interest in primary school football.
The educators will be tasked by FKF with conducting select football and life skills programmes in their regions.
On Sunday, children from select schools in the Western region will be at Bukhungu Stadium for the official launch of the programme. The kids will play games and be taught some life skills.
Beyond the launch, schools participating in the programme will receive footballs and training equipment. Primary school teachers who are directly involved with the children shall be given priority in FKF’s coaching courses.
The initiative will in the long run give an opportunity to children to not only showcase their potential early in their football development life cycle but also ensure that they are handled by qualified personnel.
