Safaricom Limited last week announced a one-year Kshs. 50 million sponsorship of My Professional Dream (MPD) Academies. MPD Academies is a recently launched football talent programme tailored to identify and nurture football talent from different parts of the country.
According to the telco, The Safaricom Next Generation programme will adopt a holistic approach to developing talent in youngsters aged between 11 and 16 years, and plans to admit 75 boys and girls into an elite football coaching academy within the coming weeks.
Joe Ogutu, Director – Strategy & Innovation, Safaricom, opines that this platform will give aspiring footballers a chance to hone their skills from a young age, as well as give them opportunities to display their talents to the right people at the right time and in the right places both locally and abroad.
MPD Academies was founded in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2012 by Team Tours Direct UK C.E.O. Alex O’Neill to identify and nurture talent in young athletes from all over the world, and has so far had programmes in Dubai, England and Wales with the Kenyan academy being the first full time academy for the brand.
The football training academy will offer players coaching at the highest level, with ten leading UEFA qualified coaches – including former international professional coaches from countries such as England, Nigeria and Portugal – expected to be flown in for training and mentorship.
The programme will begin with eight regional try-outs in October before moving on to the National Finals in November where 75 exceptionally talented players will be identified. MPD Academies will then continue their development through regular training sessions and coaching master classes to be held at their Academy in Nairobi from January 2016.
Interested players can submit their applications to be invited to the regional try-outs in their preferred regions by filling in application forms available at registration spots to be announced soon or online here. The 75 successful finalists will be unveiled in a grand ceremony in December 2015.