La Liga East Africa representative Oliver Dodd delivering a presentation during a press briefing. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 6 – Spanish League management company La Liga says they might consider opening a football academy in East Africa, probably in either Kenya or Uganda as it seeks to expand its Community Social Responsibility program.
Though no definite timelines on the plan, La Liga’s East Africa Representative Oliver Dodd says pending opportunity and availability of investors, there is potential to add on another academy on top of the 10 that have already been set up by the Spaniards.
“Our scouts have been here and they have told us there is great potential and the talent here is fantastic. We need to get them training early under good structures for them to secure their football futures,” Dodd said during a media forum on Wednesday.
He added; “The time frame depends on a lot of things including opportunities in the region and getting potential investors. We are looking at either Kenya or Uganda and most probably we can have it here in Kenya.”
La Liga up to date has trained almost 120,000 players and 9,500 coaches have also earned a piece of the La Liga pie in terms of expertise and capacity building.
-League grow
La Liga says it is determined to see to it that football in the region grows and especially the Kenyan Premier League with whom they have a signed partnership.
“In every country we go, we want to ensure that La Liga is the second most followed league. Our aim is to make the local leagues the most watched and the most supported. We have signed partnerships all over Africa and we are glad that is paying off,” Dodd further stated.
Biggest of the benefits the KPL has picked from the partnership with La Liga is the broadcast deal with production company Media Pro who signed a three-year contract at the beginning of the year to produce matches and in turn distribute to local channels.
The league managers and club officials have also benefited from capacity building with La Liga organizing a seminar on management and digital marketing.
-Assisting clubs
Dodd further stated that La Liga will continue assistant clubs in the Kenyan league to get the best out of their brands.
Further from the KPL, La Liga two months ago signed a partnership with telecommunication company Safaricom for the second edition of the Chapa Dimba na Safaricom Tournament which has already rolled on across the country.
Four top players from each of the eight regional finals will have an opportunity to travel to Spain for a training camp as well as a series of friendly matches with youth teams across the European country.
“We hope that through this partnership, the Kenyan game will grow because our insistence is on developing the young talent and this partnership with Safaricom is a great way of doing that,” Dodd further stated.
The La Liga representative also shared on the successes the La Liga CSR programs have had over the years and how the management of La Liga has changed and consequently improved the clubs in the top two leagues in Spain.
