Football star spearheads program designed to mentor upcoming footballers

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Sofapaka FC striker Ronald Okoth recalls vividly the challenges he faced growing up as he sought to fulfil his dream of becoming one of the best footballers in the country. He tells me he had no mentor to guide him in his football journey and that he at one time was on the verge of giving up on his dream. Turns out that this hurdle has made him invest in developing young upcoming footballers and provide excellent sports mentorship which he says pays huge dividends in the future success of sportspeople.

Sports for development

Ronald, runs the RO Sports Foundation  with an aim of impacting thousands of young footballers with long life skills, sports education, self discipline and social development through football.

"Sport can make the lives of all people better. Having experienced difficulties  during my early years of starting out, I saw the need to mentor, empower and inspire our young local players through talent identification, mentorship sessions, club scouting and placement, endorsement opportunities and sports sponsorships. This is what is lacking in our sporting arena and RO Sports Foundation wants to fill the gap,” he says.

The RO Sports Foundation has reached out to over five hundred young footballers in learning institutions, football pitches and in the informal settlements. Ronald prides himself for taking part in mentoring sports talent in Chapa Dimba, a sporting initiative meant to identify, hone and reward football talent at the grassroots level across the country.

"Last year we got a rare opportunity at Chapa Dimba to spot and mentor this boy to be a rising star. We even recommended him to two Kenya Premier League (KPL) clubs but they rejected him. Fast foward, Congrats to Omala for being voted the KPL best player in the month of December 2019."

Impact

Ronald says that the impact of his mentorship initiative has been overwhelming.  "I'm amazed by the feedback from the mentees.  Many of them after going through the mentorship and utilising the advice given have achieved their goals. Seeing them do well in football or in class is always a huge achievement for us . We have those who we have connected to professional football clubs in our top league or 2nd tier. There are others who we have linked up with educational scholarships through sports. A holistic development in the lives of these young boys and girls is what we aim to achieve," says Ronald.

One of the schools he has visited for mentorship and community service clinic is the Kibera Angels Soccer Academy.

I kid 1 pair campaign

Far from the mentorship program, the graduate in Information  Science from the Kenya Methodist University is also running a 1 kid 1 pair campaign to ensure every child has at least a proper pair of football gear to play in. Ronald believes that this is important because physical education forms an important part of a child’s development. "I noticed many of these young players enjoy playing football but lack the proper kits. Through  this campaign, we give them playing kits and shoes as well as offer them mentorship too. This has greatly helped in curtailing school absence and kept them from engaging in bad vices. So far, he has given out 50 pairs of shoes against a target of 500. He has been running the initiative from his own resources and it has proved a little difficult and is appealing to the public for help.

Ronald who was born and brought up in Siaya, believes the government can do better in supporting its sports people who've brought pride to the nation.  He wants the government to put in place proper structures to help nurture talent. "We are still waiting for the stadiums they promised."

Advice to upcoming footballers

"Always be your own biggest fan. Being your own biggest fan is the reward you can give yourself. I’ve had to crawl and work to get to where I am and I’m proud it’s a story that inspires many of the youngsters because they relate to it."