Select league side plays Spanish team

In Malaga, Spain.

A select SportPesa Premier League side will play its first friendly match against Spanish lower-tier league team Cordoba Club de Futbol on Wednesday from 10pm at Estadio el Mauli in Malaga.

The 18-man team arrived in Spain on Sunday evening, and has been residing at the Mijas La Cala Resort in Málaga ahead of Wednesday’s match which will be followed by another friendly against another Spanish Serie B side Sevilla Atlético on Friday at the Estadio Municipal Jose Burgos Quintana in Coin City.

Primed to be the team to represent Kenya in the African Nations Championship next year, the squad in Spain was drawn from the 18 SportPesa Premier League clubs, and is being handled by Harambee Stars coach Stanley Okumbi and Kenya’s Under-20 team coach John Kamau.

The players had a second training session at the Mijas La Cala Resort in Málaga Tuesday afternoon, and defender Musa Mohammed believes the tour will offer the squad invaluable experience.

“This is another good experience because we are learning from people who have already excelled in football. There are several things we are learning just by observation and the two games will offer an even greater opportunity for us to learn. We shall try to win the game but even if we don’t, we shall have gained some valuable exposure,” the Gor Mahia defender said.

On Tuesday, officials drawn from the Kenyan Premier League Limited, Football Kenya Federation, and league sponsors SportPesa embarked on a two-day sports marketing seminar at La Liga headquarters in Madrid, and were expected to link up with the Kenyan squad in Malaga on Wednesday before the 10pm kick-off.

Among the topics discussed during the seminar were creating partnership plans, capitalising on social media to reach and engage fans, in-stadia activation as well as how to leverage on football assets such as fans, popular games and ticketing.

The training was attended by KPL’s incoming chairman Daniel Aduda, Chief executive Officer Jack Oguda, Chief Operating Officer Frank Okoth and Football Kenya Federation Nairobi branch chairman Michael Ouma.

“The seminar is tailor-made for the club chairmen to help them improve their club management and build their fan base so that they can stop relying on grants and be self-sustainable,” Okoth told Nation Sport from Madrid.

Additional reporting by Cellestine Olilo