NAIROBI, Kenya, June 10 – A Brazilian national football team made up of former world cup winners and national league players will visit Kenya next month on a good will tour.
The tour which has been dubbed ‘The Game of Hope’ will also see the team visit Uganda and Burundi on a mission to establish grassroots football programmes.
“As a pre 2010 World Cup event we have invited the team to help us launch youth soccer development programmes in Kenya and East Africa as a whole, setting up several youth leagues in conjunction with the football federation and the government,” said Solomon Gacece, executive secretary of Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA).
“We have already began a grass root empowerment programme under the ‘Ubabalo’ whole life coaching where over 230 coaches across the country have so far taken through our training modules and more are yet to be trained,” he added.
The make up of the squad is still being finalized with Brazilian diplomatic representative Adam Muniz promising a host of world class will be among the tour party.
“I know everyone is expecting Kaka to be one of the players arriving but that is something we are trying to negotiate with him and other top players because many of them have commitments in Europe,” said Muniz.
The climax of the tour will be a friendly with Harambee Stars at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on August 1.
“We want all Kenyans and everyone else from East Africa to come and support the Stars as they take on the best team in the world,” said Gacece.
The team is expected to arrive in Kenya on July 17 on transit to Burundi. From Burundi they will travel to Uganda where they will stay for six days until July 27 and then commence their tour of Kenya a day later in Mombasa where they will play a selected side on July 29.
Their tour will also involve soccer clinics at the Mombasa showground and Nyayo National Stadium.