Visiting La Liga East Africa delegate, Alvaro Abreu has described Kenya's Al Duhail striker Michael Olunga as an inspiration to the upcoming footballers in the country.
Abreu said though they have not interacted much with Olunga, he believes the player is crucial in the development of grassroots football in Kenya.
While rooting for grassroots football, Abreu said the country is full of talent that should be nurtured to the top level.
Speaking during the inaugural Eldoret La Liga Cup Junior tournament at Bishop Delany High School in Eldoret, Abreu said players of Olunga calibre are an inspiration to many upcoming starlets who aspire to emulate them.
“When it comes to football talent, Kenyan ranks among the best but for the country to leverage on the potential, we need to start from the bottom level by nurturing these young players to attain their full talent,” said Abreu.
The tournament brought together four teams competing in the under-15 category where Eldoret FC was victorious in the round-robin tourney.
Abreu said the country has the potential to be a football powerhouse as long as they put structures into place.
"La-Liga Eldoret Cup is a celebration and reward of the effort and commitment put in by the community on developing grassroots academies and youth players.
"They play a big role in using football as a vehicle for social improvement no matter their background.
"It also means an effort from La Liga to be closer to its fans and reach out to as many places as possible while showing the commitment of the brand to go beyond its role of Spanish professional competition organiser,” says Abreu.
He added that the intention, with this first edition, is to give all teams and partners a nice quality experience and show the region the possibilities and the benefits of this kind of collaboration.
“We hope it will also encourage other sponsors to join in the next editions after the success of this one. We want more people to realise and see the value La Liga can offer to many local partners not only at the grassroots but in other areas too,” said Abreu.
Nurturing young players is the key to achieving great potential.
Event organizer and host Obadiah Kiptoo said the event was an exciting initiative that promotes grassroots football and brings the La Liga experience to local communities.
“We want to make sure young talents don’t go to waste when such initiatives are meant to support them at their youthful stages,” he said.
During the tournament, Eldoret won three and drew one game to win the title. Dogo FC from Langas, Homeboyz of Huruma, and Kimumu’s Kimumu Youngsters followed in that order.
