The Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Hon. Namwamba has expressed optimism in the talent spotting, nurturing, and development in the country through the flagship Talanta Hela program.

Speaking at Siagonjo Grounds in Busia County during the finals of the Cabinet Secretary’s trophy sponsored by the Ababu Namwamba Foundation, the CS reiterated the Ministry’s robust plan to achieve the set objectives in the growth of football and the creative industry in the country, by reverting to the basics, which is the grassroots level.

“We have just witnessed the fruits of investing in grassroots talent development. The boys and girls have expressed themselves well on the pitch, which we are all proud of. This is the future of our game and we intend to do this in the entire country as we endeavor to propel talent development to greater heights.

“Kenya is in a good place and we are ready to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. I want to give my assurance that we will deliver AFCON’27 in a manner and scale never seen before. We are at advanced stages in refurbishing and building the requisite infrastructure that guarantees a top level tournament,” said the CS.

CS Ababu further noted that apart from stadia development, his ministry is also keen on creating a formidable Harambee Stars team that will represent Kenya during the 2027 continental football bonanza, which is coming home to the East African borders for the first time.

“On top of the major infrastructure development, we are also building a formidable, youthful team that will proudly carry our flag at AFCON’27. We have already embarked on a deliberate, intentional, structured and robust program of talent spotting, nurturing and development that will birth a competitive team ready to conquer Africa.

“This is the way to go in ensuring that Kenya achieves its football Vision 2030 dream of qualifying for the World Cup as well as being regulars in competing at the Africa Cup of Nations,” he remarked.

Among the dignitaries that graced the event was Hon Adidi Buldozar, a Member of Parliament for Namayingo in Uganda who lauded CS Ababu’s works in Sports development in Kenya.

Also present were local football icons including Robert Matano, Musa Otieno, Allan Wanga, and Francis Chinjili among others.