Mighty Eagles Academy Enhances Preparations For Gothia Cup Debut In Sweden
At the Kenya football academy, Mighty Eagles Academy is planning to embark on a dream tour of Sweden to play in the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg.
Mighty eagles have received an official invitation to play at the tournament which will be played in July 2023 and preparations for the tournament at the Kitale-based football academy have hit a fever pitch.
According to the Mighty Eagles Academy director Moses Zewedi, the club plans to embark on the dream tour to Gothenburg and gain the desired global exposure and has appealed to well-wishers to help sponsor the trip. Their U-17 team is registered for the tournament.
“The dream to play in the Gothia Cup started when he heard about the tournament from another academy in Nairobi. Upon researching the tournament, we felt that this is a great opportunity to give our talented young people whom we work with daily. They can showcase their talents with great exposure, as they will be interacting with many different players from different nations in the world. The difficult thing is to afford the trip for over 20 players and five leaders,” Zewedi said in an interview.
Mighty Eagles Academy was established in 2019 and it engages young people from different villages with poor backgrounds in the region. According to Zewedi, who is also the founder, the academy is committed to nurturing football talents from the ages of 8 years to 20 years old for both boys and girls. The academy has been involved in different tournaments and matches in Kitale and other neighboring regions and boasts of talented boys and girls who are also able to secure High School scholarships as they play and participate in their school teams.
The team is under the tutelage of head coach Sammy Ochami who alongside Zewedi, is both a trained and licensed coach with credentials from the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), CAF, and FIFA.
Zewedi noted that they have engaged different stakeholders and the local leadership for fundraising from corporate groups, companies, and individuals as the team keeps the hope of participating in the Gothia Cup 2023 alive.
“Their main goal is to collect the necessary money and then arrive safely in Gothenburg then our hope is to see our U17 team give their best as they play against opposing teams, and thereafter interact and become a global family through sports. I think my team will go far depending on what I see during practices and matches against other local teams. We have a team of the most talented and determined young people whereby I’m sure that in case of any availability of the scouting during the tournament, several players from the team will be spotted. During our local matches and tournaments, Mighty Eagles Academy always focuses on the final and the Gothia Cup won’t be any different. Right to Dream Academy, our brothers from Ghana, should know that we’re coming for them,” Zewedi said.
“What we’re looking forward to the most is to showcase our talents, win the title, build friends, and become a Gothia Cup family for future engagements in the tournament,” He added.
Zewedi advised more Kenyan youth teams to take part in the tournament to gain the much-required exposure and nurture talent.
Among other Kenya teams that are scheduled to participate in this year’s Gothia Cup tournament include the Homabay-based Michael Olunga Foundation Academy (MOFA).