Acakoro get their training grounds after Uhuru's order

Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Margaret Kobia on March 1, 2018 directed the NYS to rehabilitate the Korogocho grounds by planting grass and installing goal posts before handing it over to the community. PHOTO | COURTESY |

What you need to know:

  • President Kenyatta was moved by one of the youngsters when he told him that they have no training ground at State House on Monday during the Fifa World Cup Trophy Tour.
  • Acakoro's Under-11 side shocked the world after stunning Spanish giants Barcelona in the 2015 Donauauen Cup in Austria.

The National Youth Service (NYS) have vacated Korogocho grounds, previously used by Acakoro football academy, following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive on Monday.

President Kenyatta was moved by one of the youngsters when he told him that they have no training ground at State House on Monday during the Fifa World Cup Trophy Tour.

“The young man I was sitting next to told me their pitch in Korogocho was taken away by the NYS and now we’ve agreed today and madam CS (Margaret Kobia) is there, she will rectify the situation,” the President said on Monday.

Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Margaret Kobia on Thursday directed the NYS to rehabilitate the playground by planting grass and installing goal posts before handing it over to the community.

“Following the Presidents’ directive on Monday the 26th, I was in Korogocho this morning (Thursday) to oversee the rehabilitation of Korogocho playground, work which will be undertaken by the National Youth Service,” the CS tweeted after visiting the area Thursday morning.

“The Korogocho playground, which was in use during the period NYS Youth Empowerment Programme was running, will now be fully rehabilitated and handed over to the community to whom it belongs.”

The famous academy, founded in 2013, found themselves without a training ground in January 2015 and for the past three years, have spent about Sh1.1 million in renting training grounds at Our Lady of Fatima and Kariobangi North Primary School.

“We are pleased with the development and can’t wait to return to our favourite grounds that we use to nurture players from humble backgrounds,” an elated Acakoro coach Rashid “Oyao” Mohammed told Nation Sport on Thursday.

Acakoro's Under-11 side shocked the world after stunning Spanish giants Barcelona in the 2015 Donauauen Cup in Austria.