It’s all celebrations when Upper Eastern Talanta Hela U19 tournament winners Marsabit County were rewarded with ambitions after reaping the fruits of their labour during the tournament.
The team beat Isiolo 2-0 in lift the regional title. They then proceeded to the nationals where they went down 5-0 to Kirinyaga County after a spirited fight and they were rewarded with Ksh500,000.
According to the Ministry of Sports through the Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS), 80% of the money would be paid to the players with the officials set to receive the remaining 20%.
For Marsabit, each player went home Ksh17,390 richer while the officials received Ksh20,000.
After receiving their cash awards, the team revealed that despite their fair performance, they had not prepared well for the tournament.
Now that they have tasted the money, they revealed that they would sharpen their claws in readiness for the second edition set to kick off in April.
The youngsters led by their captain Osman Bose were grateful that the money would help them change their family backgrounds. Bose was optimistic that the team would produce players who would represent the country at the highest levels.
“We will use the money to pay school fees, and we will help our parents for their support so far. We want to thank KAS for supporting us, and I hope they continue with the support so that we can achieve our full potential,” Bose said.
The county’s CEC for sports Ambaro Abdullahi Ali said that she was a happy leader that the boys have finally received their money. They will use this money to pay their school fees, some of them will help their parents.
“Having being selected from various parts of the county, these boys have trained and gelled together, these boys have shown great potential. They will be hoping to represent this county more in the next edition,” she said.