The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Narok County under 13 and under 15 years youth leagues commenced yesterday, Saturday 22nd July, 2023.
Ten youth teams took part in the inaugural matches of the leagues during the official launch that was held at the William Ole Ntimama stadium in Narok.
The youth league in Narok is in line with FKF’s effort to prioritize youth football as the key to nurturing young players into elite players for the development of the game.
The Chairman of the FKF Youth Committee Chris Amimo said developing youth football was the sure way to tap young talent and growing the game.
“The future of football in Kenya depends on how well we identify and nurture budding talent and therefore, projects like this to spot talent at the earliest age possible is very important to us since we have a opportunity to mold the kids into top players,” Amimo said.
The youth league in Narok follows similar leagues that have been launched in Nairobi and Nakuru counties where the federation branches have set up the age group competitions to develop young football talent.
According to the FKF Narok county branch chairman Peter Karino said that the county was elated to have the opportunity to host the league which he termed the best way to tap young talent and develop them into future stars.
“I am happy for the youth of Narok who have been privileged to get a chance to showcase what they can do on the pitch. This is the way to go, this is how we change the future of Kenyan football,” Karino said.
Amimo noted that youth development is crucial and the idea of the elite youth leagues is to identify talent at a young, teachable age.
“If players start developing at the u13 or 15 levels this player has a better chance of developing into an elite player. This is where we are going to build the next generation of players,” Amimo noted.
Amimo said that the federation will eventually form an all-stars team comprising the under-13s and under-15s in every county.
The Federation will also train coaches to help equip them with the skills required for handling the young talent.
