The Spanish La Liga are keen to expand their grassroots development programs in Kenya by involving more stakeholders at the lowest level.
Speaking in Nairobi on Thursday, La Liga representative for East Africa Alvaro Abrev said they have plans to rope in more East African countries.
"Our objective is to make the program bigger by involving more countries like Uganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda so that we can have the East African La Liga tournament," Abreau said.
Abreau said they had already set the stage for a tournament that will involve youths drawn from Kenya and Tanzania.
"One of our best programs where we believe we are a point of reference in the world is the East Africa La Liga tournament. We were able to collaborate with the delegation in Tanzania to have a qualification staged in Nairobi and another one in Dar es Salaam," he said.
"We shall then play the finals in Arusha where the top teams in the boys U15 and U17 girls will be funded to travel to Arusha to play in the finals of the tournament. We are proud that the Kenyan girls managed to win the tournament."
He talked of plans to introduce a female league that will hinge more on educational and development aspects.
"We have worked with a panel to develop a calendar for the season," he said.
He said the beneficiaries will be trained in tactical, physical, and psychological aspects needed to perform at the highest level in world football.
"More and more people are seeing the benefits that the program has brought to Africa. We intend to work closely with many brands and I believe doing so will be beneficial to the country and the brands as well, especially by connecting Spanish football with the territory," said Alvaro.
"My objective is to have one of these collaborations going on or signed by the end of the year."
"We started the international program eight years ago. And compared with all the other leagues, we have the biggest representation in the world, with more than 45 delegates all over."
Abreau said having more representatives physically in the region makes a huge difference.
"It's something that other leagues haven't put in place. We believe we are well ahead in that regard. We also have the heaviest presence on social media with over two million followers and we are working towards enhancing that," he concluded.
