Sakata Ball 2011 Re-cap

After the resounding success of Safaricom Sakata Ball 2010, Safaricom Sakata Ball 2011 has again exceeded expectations!. In 2010, Safaricom Sakata Ball launched the careers of promising footballers like Ali Mwajuma, Anthony Mbugua, Abdimalik Mohamed, Ali Yusuf, Enock Agwanda Abiero, and Kennedy ‘Veron’ Omondi. These talented footballers expressed a hope that the challenge would go on so that more talented players could benefit from it. We completely agreed with their sentiments, so here we are again! In 2010, we had 1,057 male teams, but in 2011, we were not just seeking boys. We went a step further and invited female players as well! The 2011 contest drew 2059 teams: 1,526 boys’ teams and 533 girls’ teams, so Safaricom Sakata Ball 2011 has been undoubtedly much bigger and a whole lot more impactful!

Of the many gifted players the tournament has unleashed, the best 36 talents (22 boys and 14 girls) have since joined the National Youth Talent Academy (NYTA), as from August 2011, an initiative enabled by the joint efforts of Safaricom and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). From the Girls cohort, 5 have been drafted into the national U-20s football team!

The Safaricom Sakata Ball 2011 stars that played in the world cup qualifier; Kenya vs Lesotho match on 18th Nov include Jackline Ogol, Terry Ouko, Sharon Bushenei, Mourine Achieng, and Doris Anyango and they led our team to a 2-0 win! The idea behind Safaricom Sakata Ball is to identify, nurture and develop football talent across the country. The tournament targets youngsters aged 17 to 23, also known in sports as ‘Olympic Age’. We encourage players and teams to take their football talent to the next level, challenge themselves to greater heights, and start living their football dream.

We thank our fans for being part of the Safaricom Sakata Ball countrywide journey and experience of unearthing the next Kenyan soccer stars. True to our nature, Safaricom is in the business of positively transforming the lives of Kenyan youths!

Safaricom Sakata Ball 2011 Success Stories

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