 Good afternoon and welcome back to the touchline on Y-2-5-4. My name is Max Olwaseke. We are speaking about the development of grassroot football in the wake of season competitions that happened during Christmas festivity and even the ongoing one in Kotbilo football tournament which I'm reliably informed it's the quarterfinal stage. And of course, slated for this particular afternoon is Dallas Holsters against Kajadu Holsters. Of course, that game is coming. You are in a few minutes now as we speak for the Holsters. Up against Leeds United, Ghidorah United will be playing against Terras Court then Asik Khuruma will be locking horns against Biafra Kamaliza. Wow, what a name. Biafra Kamaliza. Hopefully they win the overall. Championship joining us Simon Sepe Mulama from International, from FC Leipards midfield. I played for Mother United as well overseas. He played for Ismaili, the Egyptian Jans. But nowadays, no longer in the public domain. Good to see you Sepe Barna. And you forgotten also Westeros, I.K., Sweden. Yes, go ahead. And you guys are shaking Leeds. We live by faith. But I've been watching you for quite some time and I'm glad you guys, Y254 is growing. From the first day I was here to a lot of differences. Great guests you have. Yamura has been here, been listening to her. Great show, always growing. Where you guys are, I know positive things always happen. Definitely, good compliments coming. We are very humble to listen to that. Very much, very much. So Sepe, we were speaking when the show was just starting about grassroot football tournaments. And I don't know what has been the secret man. And I think that has been the reason as to why corporates are getting impressed and pumping their resources as we speak. There is a new betting site in Betmoto, which has given Kotbiro tournament organizers Kenya Shillings 2 million because the competition had stalled due to sport pace exit. You remember that tassel between sport pace and government over taxation. And now it's up in arms, it continues to happen. What has been the secret to these grassroot football competitions? First of all, you mentioned Biafra Kamaliza and it reminded me a team long time ago that was also participating in grassroot football, Motela Kamaliza. And that is where we had players like Mori Tsunguti coming from. From Motela, Gripanyanje in the neighborhoods. But I think the secret is in the community we have a lot of talent. We have young guys and young adults that engage in football as a form of entertainment or hobby or sometimes they just want to play and try their luck and see if they'll get a chance to participate in other bigger leagues. So the number of players that are talented and have the ability that are in the community have not yet sprung up and be seen at the top level or at the biggest stages, the numbers are huge. So while we have the top leagues going on, when an opportunity is presented for this community or this off-season tournaments to be played, then teams will always be there, players will always be there. So these tournaments will always be here with us. I think that has been the secret. The number of players at the base, huge number of players that haven't already got an opportunity to participate at the top, they are present, they are always ready and willing to participate in such platforms. Osoro, there has been this fear of several corporates coming on board to sponsor sporting initiatives due to accountability. We've seen several reasons cited as to why most companies are scared of sponsoring sporting initiatives for fear that their money will not be well utilized. Do you think they should not continue looking back and keep on investing their resources into sports? Yeah, they should do that because at the end of the day for corporates, for them what they want is visibility for their products. And I think grass roots football, muasote, alphastics period has shown that they have got numbers and for corporates, for them what they want for their product is visibility. And when they give their money, they know that our product has been seen outside there. I know you are already smiling. You seem to know what I intended to ask. As a graduate of an overseas university, you've been working in partnership with local agencies to ensure that those players who exhibit exceptional potential can get an opportunity to study overseas. How has it been like even in your pursuit of ensuring that those kids that get such chances are those from the local level in machinani where there is plenty of untapped potential? Well, it's not easy but with resources then it becomes a little bit easier. You can travel a lot, you can move a little bit more and more fluidity in terms of logistics. But when you are provided with such platforms then you have a huge pool to choose from. You don't have to choose the best out of the worst players. You have to choose the best out of the best players because you have a huge number of players that meet certain criteria in terms of ability and education and all that. So yes, such platforms are good and I think they also present the opportunity for the kids not only to pursue football as a career but they can also pursue academics and pursue other careers in life. Osoro, Kotbiro Tornamendi is a competition. You and I have attended the finals at Zewani. Grounds at some points getting problems with FKF over, you know, it is sanctioning on whether it should continue taking place and of course towards the end of last year I think there were protests with some teams. We used to nafsi invading the pitch to protest over the unpaid prize money because professor was the main sponsor and what happened to them they had to pull out now a bit more to a new gaming site on board. I don't know what do you make of Kotbiro tournament as a football competition as a tournament which has been played in the Far Eastlands area where it is believed to be the cradle land of Soka. I think with everybody who is organizing a football tournament they need to understand that you have to be sanctioned by the Federation. So at the end of the day if it is Kotbiro, it is any Plovas Malala Cup, Baraza Foundation, all those tournaments have got to be sanctioned by the Federation so it can be easier for you to run your tournaments because when you are not sanctioned by the Federation or you have problems with the Federation then you come to realize that your tournament will not be sanctioned I think you remember what happened to the Extreme Super 8 when they had their problems with the Federation so anybody who is organizing any tournament for it to have smooth sailing for the tournament just have that letter from the Federation giving you a go ahead to have your tournament. But I think also the challenge with this particular question you asked about Kotbiro and other teams invading the ground was not really about not being sanctioned by the Federation but amounts were not paid to the previous winners and now this tournament was almost getting close to the quarterfinals and the tournament is going on but previous winners have not been paid so people get on the field and say unless we get because I remember Asek had a match on that day Asek Guruma and that's my neighbor who do have a run so it's a team I follow very closely and this team says you know this match is not going on because after this is the semifinals and then the finals and then our money will be forgotten so you guys have to pay as for the previous competition before this can be played and you guys go ahead and do it so the ambition of the pitch was positive in these guys and I think it was a wake up call for them I think they needed that kind of jacking so that they can go ahead and go out of their way and look for sponsorships it's a good thing that they got a partner or a sponsor in Betmoto to come in and rescue them at least because making payment from your pocket sometimes it becomes too much we've seen chairman of clubs if you keep paying from your personal pocket it becomes a big burden because you also have a family and other stuff you have to do but then if it's a corporate that supports that and they do this as a CSR exercise or something then it becomes easy for you to flow and move the tournament because of that the invasion of the grounds and the rebellion from some of the clubs it motivated the organizers to go ahead and look out for sponsorships and I think it's a good thing Betmoto came in and rescued them they got some amount to try and settle that previous debt that was there and help them go ahead and finish the tournament also it looks like it is very difficult to run a grassroot initiative because having spoken to the organizers of those tournaments which took place during off season period with some saying that they won't pay prize money they will just facilitate playing kids balls and pay referees it looks like it is difficult at some point our good friend Paul Polosa was the tournament coordinator saying that he has with the drone because of the difficulties he encountered Yes but I've seen he was handed some playing kids balls, jazies and even referees money how tricky it is the motivation behind the tournament which is the key so you will find we have got grassroot tournaments being funded by politicians they have got money and the motivation behind that is my name is out there for my people in my constituency or I will be elected in 2022 in 2022 people will be talking about me and then you look at a tournament now like Kotbiro which the motivation is not the politician it's about the tournament that has been there for a very long time that is there to nurture some of these young talents and all that so the likes of Paul Polosa the likes of Roba they don't have that much money to run the tournament if they had deep pockets it's easier for them to run the tournament away from the money and everything the people running the tournament are they trained for that do they have the necessary expertise to go ahead and run this tournament smoothly because you will come to find that even if it's not the grassroot football and you are running any tournament the pressure of handling that tournament even if it's a 7 day tournament even if it's a 3 day tournament it's a 1 day tournament there is a lot of work for you you have to put in for that tournament to be successful I think you have brought in some interesting concern with regards to the people behind the running and management of the tournament we've heard Ngarakamuya was the sports lawyer here time and again and he's insisted on the essence of these sporting associations having not necessarily a former player but someone with the mindset of a sporting manager and we've seen people like Charles Cardoville now in charge of Betmoto as the marketing manager he's dealt with rugby he's been a coach I think and a player as well do you think the association of sports him having been in rugby but now dealing with football do you think that towards realization of the success and goals of these initiatives like even Kotbiru because when we had that conversation about when we look at the American sports system the people who are working in the sports industry who are graduates from big universities Yale, Stanford, Oxford and all that these are sports machinery who necessarily do not care about the field of play have no anything to do with the field of play of sports for them it is the machinery behind the sports unit in that the marketing department the project managers for them they come the employed to do that job and that's why it is very efficient now for us here you'll find that just because Sepe was a former player doesn't have the expertise to run a tournament he'll be named the tournament director now the pressure that comes with that of running that tournament is you don't have the expertise to run that tournament and now you'll start having your way in that tournament so at the end of the day you need to look for the necessary expertise to run your tournament and not necessarily in the universities you know and in the big offices with suit and ties because when we mention guys like Paulosa and Robo and the former the late anyway when you start calling out such names you realize that they have been in the industry for quite some time and these are skills that can be acquired and they resonate well with the region and the community that they are serving and the community that they also is hiding so over time they acquire these skills they acquire the expertise that we are talking about and so however much you could have gone to a project management class but then when you come to the ground in Huruma and somebody doesn't want to you know the referee pulls out a red card and the player and the fans get on the field because they know this is a critical player for our team we do not want him to go out then whatever you learn in class it's not going to be applicable on the field but then the respect that you have gained over time because you've been around for quite some time people know you and you have they trust and they respect you in that sense you can just stand on that field and you guys respect what the referee has said it's all about building the game let the guy go out, let the game continue and that will happen and of course you can continue talking to us after touchline Y254 at Y254 channel at Osoro Bats and of course some feedback coming in through Edward Okoth of course he's an aspiring politician but he says that I'm reading from the same script I agree with Osoro local tournament organizers will focus on the development of talents of the young people rather than gaining political mileage most of the players end up feeling misused with no meaningful rewards you see, for someone like him who is looking for getting elected in a political capacity he says that you know in as much as we put up these tournaments there should be a goal an ultimate prize to use it as a stepping stone to election and that's where the challenge comes to also goes to the organizers and say this is our vision, this is our mission this is why we are setting up a tournament is it for financial gain so that number one gets 1 million number two gets 750,000 number three 500,000 we go to the media, we make a lot of noise and then that's the end of it are we providing a platform and we will identify we will recognize that they have put in an effort in participating will give them a certificate but also make this a continuous process that maybe after four months we will have another tournament of the same maybe it's a U17 or U21 after another six months we will do the same while we are bringing in coaches and maybe agents and stuff like that and people who can try and identify the talent and find a way of nurturing it now if we have a tournament where all we want is number one to get 1 million and the office gets administration cost money maybe 500,000 and after one month it's over that's when we have a lot of egos being bruised and then we have a problem but when everyone is reading whoever is sponsoring it be it an MP, be it a corporate firm that is known whoever it is whoever is sponsoring it should read on the same script with the organizers and also the clubs that are participating you call the number of clubs participating you call their management, you call the coaches and say guys this is it's a long haul project it's longevity not just for today but we are looking 10 years, 15 years, 20 years from now so don't really look at how many millions you will get from this tournament but look at the platform that we are giving you guys especially for the player and that is quite an interesting remark I know you closely followed what happened in western especially in kakamega count regards to club for small alas tournament finals alongside fenandes baraza tournament finals amongst other competitions that took place even in a quarter memorial cup but these two caught the attention of a lot of Kenyans with regards to how people scrambled for mileage attention quite a crowd in terms of those fans who attended but what's the end term goal I mean when you hear and I'm not talking about any specific tournament those that you mentioned but you know for fear of victimization beneath this seat she long enough for no reason but you know Maxwell you tell me I'm a corporate we've read about the heart trick project by UEFA and the success that they had 13 years later having started to build many pitches and restructure them and manage them many pitches all around Europe and for 13 years the 13th year when the world cup was being played the last 6 teams were from Europe the last 2 teams were from Europe and the world cup remained in Europe something that they were proud of and they say it is because of a project that they made sure there are many pitches not stadiums many pitches so where in your neighbourhood Jerico, Palenje your kid can go out and play on a nice surface and nicely fenced and then the coaches around that region their coached capacity is built okay so if I go out there and I build many pitches even when I live in office everybody will remember what I did for development of football your impact will be long time because 50 years later there are kids that will be playing on a good surface the community coaches have been trained well to work with kids and develop their talent the national teams and the clubs in the country will be getting good products not a player that cannot control the ball because this player has been brought up the right way he is exposed to good tournaments exposed to good training then when we do such stuff and say we want to develop the game personally as sepe someone who has played before and has visited different areas that have been successful in football tik one lesson for me which I took from grass roots football was Kenyans are hungry for live football at home that was a big lesson I took from the grass roots football you go right now to Kotbiro you will find many people there you go to a Kenyan Premier League match that is happening today at Kasarane Stadium there are no fans so that is a big work up call just a game at home in Kakamega the mumias complex home ground game with home ground people the home area people are coming to the field to watch that at Kotbiro people are coming to watch that match and people are not going to watch a Kenyan Premier League match so that was a big lesson that we have to pick from grass roots football why is it that the people from around that area are going to watch their own people at some point I think the same ground Zewani in 2017 the finals were taking place for Kotbiro tournament and I think even accreditation for members of the press had to happen that's how big it had been small little things incentives for the community around that stadium so you have to pay 20 shillings or 30 depending on the level of the competition so if it's a final maybe you'll pay a 50 for a fit and the seats are all over the place so there's a lot of benefit when you get involved yourself with grass root football and development for whoever it is for a partner that wants to partner with the community and engage in development of the sport at the grass root level but also the community benefits a lot from having a structured way or tournaments that can bring up their talents but also can showcase what they have around there's a kiosk just next to that stadium I know it and almost everybody has to pass through that place at least to make sure your name is mentioned that Wasikia was here one time even if it means next time you'll eat in a cafe in town but when you talk about Kotbiro you cannot speak about Kotbiro without mentioning Kwanjaga next to Kotbiro not necessarily chips and burger but it's the tradition it's the flavor that comes with this tournament so even the community around benefits from such tournaments but when they are well organized well funded supported well and it's a good thing that we are seeing such a betting company coming through for Kotbiro tournament that was at risk of just folding up and quite something when it comes to organization of the same even prior to 2017 polls there were a lot of politicians crowded and most of them were scrambling for attention just 30 seconds speaking and I think the organizers said no come on this is not a politically related tournament we shall keep it to matters football and giving back to the community and I think that has always been the norm I think can we say that that has been the secret as to why its longevity has been witnessed to date I think it's because culturally they have put it as a local community tournament it's not a political tournament that people are coming to talk before the final you have to give a microphone you realize even most of senior players going even to those tournaments they are playing in those tournaments but it's all about that young kid from that community can he get a chance to show his talent and can someone spot him take him to another place so overall what is the secret what should the organizers of these football competitions do to ensure that they attract corporate they seem to be lack of corporate confidence when it comes to supporting sporting activities because of fear of embezzlement of resources can you be as transparent as possible in the process of organizing your tournaments and attracting the corporates try to be as transparent as possible with the resources that you get build a good portfolio that anyone refers to a previous partner it's only positive feedback that they get that is it and also the content of the competition sometime let's have teams that have been coached well and they have good discipline because there is also a reputation that comes from the tournaments so when we have good reputation good publicity so we have good reputation then you have a chance of attracting people Roya is like 2 or 3 years old but you know you see the kind of support or partners that come on board Kotbiro has been there for the longest time Mohammad Abbas played Kotbiro in the 80s and we are talking about a tournament that is less than 3 years old but already attracting more partnerships more sponsorships than Kotbiro you understand the reputation is also critical so work on not just registering clubs and having as many clubs as possible but also let's have training for the funds and the players and the coaches so when a coach is on the touchline we expect of you so when you are participating in Kotbiro tournament this is the kind of behaviour we expect if you are a player this is what we expect the funds this is what we expect and trust me man even among those funds you get someone who can help you in a small way to fund your project definitely of course we have been speaking about the development of grass road football with focus on Kotbiro the ongoing competition actually the oldest football competition in Kenya notably in Nairobi with the competition entering quarterfinal stages 4 matches lined up this particular afternoon we shall be keeping tabs and see how it pans out of course the organisers now look relieved because they have a new gaming site in Batmoutu who has come to their rescue considering that sport players are left after that tassel with government over taxation the tournament had stalled and there were protests from teams that participated during last season over and paid allowance and as sepe put it now there is some order and of course to those teams taking part discipline is key and that's why you know corporates have to come on board you are patting short gentlemen so Robert your final words I know you've been you've been on administration radar with regards to borrowing a leaf from these grass road competitions in terms of packaging their product to attract more crowds are you still emphasising on the same I'll just say we enjoy the airfake up tonight and we are on channel one right we are on channel one and I think the ongoing tie ever done again is both ham also live right now thanks for hosting me my friend and you know the corporates and any other good well wishes we hope they don't shy off from coming to support the grass road football and grass road development because that's where the future of this country is and you always see every evening alongside in the neighbourhood of rumah catching up the young people showcasing their talent quite an interesting every one in Eastlands you'll find me quite something of course that has been the touchline on Y254 we say goodbye and continue keeping safe God bless you and happy new year to you folks see you next time simplez