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Nelson Angayia emerged as the best goalkeeper in the Western region at the just concluded Safaricom Chapa Dimba regional finals. During the final, Ebwali Boys beat Compel Sportif 1-0, Nelson saved a penalty which ensured that his team was able to advance. Other than the recognition, he also got to walk away with Ksh. 30,000 as prize money in addition to the Ksh. 250,000 that was awarded to his team.

Nelson is a 17-year-old Form Two student at Ebwali Secondary School. He started his journey as a footballer at the tender age of 12 years when he was in Class Four. At the time, he played in various positions but finally settled on being a goalie where he has managed to excel. Apparently, becoming a goalie was by chance because it just happened that there was a time when Luobe his childhood team did have a keeper and he had to step in. Since then, he has never looked back but has managed to grow from strength to strength.

Coming from a humble background, life has not been easy for Nelson. Lack of school fees has seen him miss out on school a number of times. Luckily due to his football talent, his school Ebwali stepped in to help him finish his education. However, these challenges rather than making him give up, have only served to strengthen his resolve to do the best he can both in class and on the field in order to ensure a better life for himself and his family.

On the field, his journey has not been a bed of roses as being that he is in a lower grade. He has had to fight for his position in the team against the Form Threes and Fours. However, his hard work managed to convince the coach that he was up to the task.

To ensure that he is always in tip top shape, Nelson trains every day come rain or sunshine. He shared that he is always the first one on the pitch where he practices ball handling and dribbling skills. Other than just hard work, he also shared that footballing talent runs in the family with his grandfather also having played as a goalkeeper in his hey days.

When preparing for a match, Nelson and his team mates usually make a point of removing all distractions like phones. This helps them to focus their minds on the game which makes them immune from any mental games from their opponents.

He shared that, as a team Ebwali are motivated to emerge as the National Chapa Dimba winners. This is because of the fact that their team became a laughingstock having been eliminated at the Sub County level in the National School games. This motivated them to work hard so as to prove the naysayers wrong.

His role model as a goalkeeper is Patrick Matasi who currently plays for the Kenya Police Football Club. Though he shares that, courtesy of his hard work, he believes that he will be able to perform even better than Patrick.

According to Nelson, Chapa Dimba has made and continues to make a huge impact on the lives of young footballers. This is because it has not only helped nurture the talent of young footballers but it has also given them a national platform that provides exposure for talented players. Something which was lacking in the football scene. A good example of this is Benson Omalla who became noticed courtesy of Chapa Dimba and is currently the star player at Gor Mahia with talks of playing abroad.

On young and upcoming goal keepers, Nelson had these words of advice, “They need to persevere and work hard despite the many challenges that life may throw at them. I have had to overcome many challenges to get to where I am today including breaking my hand. However, this did not deter me as I still used to train even when injured. Perseverance and hard work is what has brought me this far and can do the same for you.”