Jomo Cosmos owner keen on investing in Kenyan game football
South African football administrator Jomo Sono (left) speaks during a press conference when he paid former Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga a courtesy call at his Capital Hill in Upper Hill Nairobi on June 29, 2018. PHOTO | KANYIRI WAHITO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Odinga revealed that he met Sono on a trip to South Africa and invited him to invest in and develop Kenyan football talent.
- Sono on Friday pledged to start a “Jomo Cosmos Football Academy” in Kenya and buy a division two team that he will build to play in the Kenyan Premier League.
Jomo Sono, the owner of South African professional football club, Jomo Cosmos, says he will launch a football academy in Kenya besides taking up stakes in a local club.
He spoke after meeting with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga at the latter’s office in Nairobi on Friday.
Odinga revealed that he met Sono on a trip to South Africa and invited him to invest in and develop Kenyan football talent. Sono on Friday pledged to start a “Jomo Cosmos Football Academy” in Kenya and buy a division two team that he will build to play in the Kenyan Premier League.
Odinga paid tribute to Sono’s ability to spot and develop talent in rural areas, among them Philemon Masinga, Helman Mkhalele and Mark Fish all of whom played for South Africa’s national team, “Bafana Bafana.”
Odinga attributed said lack of money and poor football development programmes as some of the main causes of the poor performance by the African teams that were all ejected from the Fifa World Cup in Russia.
He called on the Kenyan government to support the multi-billion football industry and also called on the education sector to create make football a co-curriculum activity that inspires primary school children.
