Kenya U-16 Side Invited For Spain Tourney

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Kenya Under-16 boys’ football team Monday landed a successive invite to compete at the Mediterranean International Cup (MIC), and captain Teddy Sirma asserts that this exposure will ultimately actualise his ambition of turning out for an English Premier League (EPL) club.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) media officer Ken Okaka told Nation Sport the youthful team will head to Spain for preparations and friendly matches before competing at the tournament to be held in April in Valencia.

“The boys have garnered valuable experience over the past year and graduated from a U15 to U16 side. We are confident of putting up a better show,” said Okaka.

Kenya triumphed in two of the six outings at last year’s tournament but the performance was enough for Sirma to attract the attention of scouts attached to EPL side Tottenham Hotspur.

The Junior Boys thrashed local side CF Nevata 6-1, and then triumphed 3-0 in a penalty shoot-out victory over CE Flaca, before posting losses against American side Eastern FC, Terres de L’ebre and ASM Belfortaine.

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“Joining the Center of Excellence was the best decision because I study and train at the same place. I want to be a professional footballer and also represent Kenya at the World Cup. I was invited to Tottenham and look forward to joining the academy,” said Sirma.

Kenya also finished second, behind winners Uganda, at the 10-nation Cecafa U-15 Championship held in Eritrea last August, after posting wins over Somalia, Burundi, Tanzania, and Sudan.

Consisting of 30 players, the Junior Boys are fully funded by FKF as part of the federation’s investment in youth football with an ambitious target of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the USA and Mexico.

The players hold daily training sessions at Wadi Degla Club in Runda, which is a state-of-the-art facility that boasts an 11-aside astro-turf pitch, fully equipped gym and swimming pool among other amenities. The players also partake online classes during the day.

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