The annual Coca-Cola Football Tournament is one of the most prestigious events in Kenya’s footballing calendar. GAFFER Youngstars made the long journey to the border town of Taveta to show their skills against teams from all of the Coast Province.

After an overnight journey that took the players through the heart of Tsavo, Kenya’s largest National Park, the boys finally arrived in the dusty, bustling town and donned their boots in preparation for a fantastic weekend of football! Two days of relentless football ensued with GAFFER Youngstars showing everyone that the time on the training ground was time well spent! With victories against Taveta and Mwatate and a draw with Voi, the Youngstars were without doubt the strongest team on show! Brilliant performances by all the GAFFER stars including a brace of goals for young Kelvin Kuite saw off the opposition and Myanyasi’s David Seaman-esque goalkeeping heroics ensured the ball remained the right side of the net! At the end of the weekend no less than six players were selected from the GAFFER boys to represent the Coast Provincial team in the national tournament!

A brilliant effort from all involved especially Mr Mohamed, Jimmy Ruwa and Tito Eluid who coached and supported the boys throughout the build up and tournament! Thank you guys…the Youngstars are a force to be reckoned with!

Success comes at a price. For the recent footballing success of the GAFFER Youngstars all over Kenya’s Coast that price is paid on the field! GAFFER’s first training camp for both Under-16 and Under-13 youth players took place this week in the grounds of Marasi Primary school, Kenya.

Both age groups have been outstanding with victories at the most prestigious tournaments in Mombasa. With nationwide tournaments looming it was time to ensure that the young men were the best they could possibly be when they face Kenya’s finest talent! With Head Coach Titus running the show under the watchful eye of GAFFER’s most experienced football consultant, Mr Mohamed, it was time for some serious football. The boys trained, ate, slept and relaxed together to build teamwork and friendships as well as footballing prowess. Friendly matches were played at the end of each day with adult teams from around the area. The GAFFER boys held their own and by the end of the week were easily dispatching some shocked looking locals! Let’s hope the lads can make 2012 as successful as 2011!

The seventh edition of GAFFER’s annual mens league kicked off in the Coast Province this weekend! With sixteen villages ready for battle to see who will be crowned the 2012 champions!

The games are played in a Champions League style group format with four teams in four groups playing off and the top two from each group advancing towards the final stages! The competition is intense and big rivalries between villages are played out in front of enthusiastic supporters! Group A saw new challengers from Wildlife Works take on the most successful ever mens team the Samba Boiz! In an action packed match the experience of Samba shone through with a decisive 1-0 victory! The second game featured the youngsters of Tsavo Lions facing off against the big boys from Black Lions in a Simba classic! Expecting to sweep the smaller lads off the park Black Lions were shocked by the decisive passing and fluid team work that months of training for the Under 13 and Under 16 leagues have instilled in the Tsavo squad. A crunching 3-0 victory split the group wide open and the path to the final is looking uncertain for all! In Group B Itinyi beat Marungu 1-0 and Mkamenyi stormed the Kale lads with a 4-1 victory!

This year promises to be the most competitive yet as the hours spent on the training ground pays off and GAFFER looks forward to the big final in April!

With five trained peer educators working in fifteen primary schools, two secondary schools and four health centers around Kasigau it has been a busy year for GAFFER Health! James Ruwa looks forward to 2012 and rounds up 2011 for your reading pleasure!

As the major aim of GAFFER health, there has been different life skills lessons conducted within the schools of Kasigau. A team of five employees led by Esmilly Chari regularly teach Students within the community alongside the school teachers who have given GAFFER Health such sterling support! Kids who were in class five last year are now our new clients. GAFFER health provides lessons to kids from classes 6-8 only. 2011 class eights’ have gone but we have new class eight, new class seven and new class six. Classes six are going to start with the introduction and then proceed to the next level.

To make the kids understand our lessons better, GAFFER Health have worked with the youngsters to prepare and perform dramas and poems about poignant issues within the community such as HIV/AIDS and sexual health. Kids have really enjoyed this in their schools because the poems and dramas contain important messages that must be understood by the kids and community. GAFFER Health also extends its reach within community groups and health centers. There are 4 health centers in Kasigau and GAFFER Health has been working alongside the professionals to facilitate education to those who need it most. With the doctor’s advice, GAFFER employees teaches the most touching issues in the community and it is at this level where family planning and use of condoms are demonstrated.

GAFFER Health has been very much involved in making sure that community members get Voluntary Counseling and Testing for HIV/AIDS in their villages during GAFFER events such as football finals, one day tournaments, World AIDS day and other events. In this regard, GAFFER health have collaborated with St. Josephs shelter of hope to provide testing equipments and trained doctors and counsellers. Our recent Under 13s football finals had 60 people tested. Along with testing and advice, St Josephs provides support for those who are living positively with the illness.

Girls have benefited a lot this year. With support from two Swedish ladies, we were able to visit all 15 primary schools teaching girls how to make locally available sanitary pads which are both hygienic and washable so that no young lady has to miss school due to her natural cycles.

In December 2011, GAFFER worked with local Peace Corps volunteers to organize a week long camp for the girls at Kiteghe village. GAFFER Health facilitated health education through football demonstration. Furthermore, Esmilly Chari and Asha Kibwana; our female GAFFER health employees represented GAFFER in this event. The main aim was to make girls aware that they are very important in the community and how to avoid early pregnancies, diseases and others. The theme of the event was “YES GIRLS CAN”.

It has been a busy year and with such great support from all the places that GAFFER Health works we are sure we can make 2012 even more successful!

After the success of GAFFER’s Under 16 lads in Mombasa it was time to show the big city boys that our youngest players are a force to be reckoned with! The Play Against Drugs tournament saw teams from all over Kenya battling for the trophy and once again the GAFFER kids stole the show!

The tournament took place at Mombasa Sports Club in the heart of the city. Saturday saw the qualifying matches and the Under 13 Youngstars sailed through the first games with four superb strikes from Emmanuel Mwamkono, who lived up to his nickname of Adebayor! The confidence and skills that the boys gained on the training ground under the watchful eyes of Mr Mohamed and Tito really showed and the Youngstars were in a different class! Teams that expected to walk over the barefooted boys from the bush were given a lesson in passing and finishing that made all at GAFFER proud! After a tour of the sights and sounds of Kenya’s most historic city the boys were early to bed in preparation for Sundays finals!

The Semi-Final was against Mikidani FC who had also put on a great show the previous day. The Youngstars took an early lead through Delvan Mwaghogo and held it until half time. In the second half the Youngstars fended off a barrage of attacks lead by the skilled and experienced opposition. An equalizer was inevitable and the village lads were on the back foot with ten minutes to play bat 1-1! Something special was required and it came in the form of a solo effort from Emmanuel Adebayor. Sweeping past defenders to slam the ball into the back of the net and ensure a route to the final against the home favourites – Mombasa Sports Club! Spectators rolled in to see some of Kenya’s most promising football talent on display! In a nail biting final the Youngstars took control before half time and never looked back. With a mid-field that Arsene Wenger would have been proud of GAFFER’s finest teenagers ruled the park and Adebayor added to his amazing tally to give Youngstars the cup! Fantastic football!

As usual the excellent facilities and organization that MSC is reknown for made this an unforgettable experience for all involved. The standard of football in the Coast is improving at an astounding rate and GAFFER cannot wait to be back to mix it up with the best! Thanks to Mr Mshila, Mr Mo, James, Titus and the rest of the GAFFER crew for making it happen! Good work peoples!

The Saul Hull Under 13 tournament drew to an exciting climax this weekend in the Kenyan bush! Sixteen teams made up of GAFFER’s youngest talent have been battling it out to see which village has the finest youngstars! Alongside the football action Sexual Health professionals were on hand to offer advice and testing for HIV.

The tournament is played annually in honour of Saul Hull, one of GAFFER’s greatest supporters. It takes teams made up of players in every village in the area GAFFER works and splits them into four groups with the top two of each going through to the final stages. The competition this year has been intense and the high level of training given by the team coaches under the supervision of GAFFER’s head coach, Titus Eluid, has ensured the standard is improving week by week!

The third place playoff saw Kale FC take on Makwasinyi village in an action packed encounter that went all the way to penalties! Makwasinyi held their nerve and took the victory and the 3rd place prize of a good sized goat! The final was to follow and saw two of GAFFER’s most improved young teams fight it out! Sasenyi and the local boys Itinyi lined up to see who would be crowned champions of 2011!! The game was intense and after Itinyi took an early lead Sasenyi had chance after chance to level the score. But some good luck and goalkeeping heroics prevented Sasenyi breaking the deadlock and the boys of Itinyi ruled the day!

After the celebrations had died down it was time for GAFFER to announce the names of the best players from all the teams who would go on to a week long training camp to create GAFFER Youngstars U13. This team has been invited to a Province wide tournament in the Coast in a couple of weeks time! Good luck to them!

As well as the football St Josephs of Voi provided four professional HIV counselors. Sixty people now know their HIV status which is vital in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Well done guys!!

All this is made possible by an annual fundraising party attended by all who know and love Saul. Thank you guys!

At the end of November GAFFER Youngstars traveled to the Coast to face the finest of Mombasa’s footballing youth! Hailing from villages in Taita Taveta GAFFER Youngstars were hand picked from sixteen villages in the area. Having proven themselves in Voi division it was time to take on the toughest boys in Coast Province, if not in Kenya!

Mombasa Combined Charity Academy features players from around Mombasa with teams such as Mombasa Sports Club and Jomvu Boys represented. With excellent coaching from Isa and Rila the team has been selected for an International Tournament in Tanzania in December. The match took place at Makupa Primary School field with a full PA soundsystem accompanying the football spectacle that the enthusiastic supporters were treated to! As soon as the game kicked off it was clear that the Mombasa locals were serious opposition. With calm passing under pressure and great ball skills it was like watching a young Arsenal team command the midfield. Emmanuel of Jomvu made up for his small frame with testing balls up field aimed at the striking powerhouse Omari who sprinted through on goal several times in the first half. But the Youngstars held the line and took the lead through Kimega of Rukanga Village early on. Mombasa responded with Omari rattling the bar with a free kick that Didier Drogba himself would have been proud of! The standard of football was fantastic with Mombasa stars such as Hassan and Ali giving the Youngstars a tough game. However brilliant goals from Emmanuel and Thomas added to Kimega’s second and the GAFFER team took the victory 4-3.

Once again the incredible hospitality of the Mombasa locals made the weekend a great experience for everyone involved! The football was fantastic and Mr Mohamed, James, Titus and Ben at GAFFER would like to thank Mombasa Combined Charity Academy for the warm welcome! GAFFER Youngstars are back to the bush now but will be training hard to ensure they return to the coast for more football action soon!

This year the GAFFER Youngstars have been funded by Dev’s Kili climb and his kind supporters – thanks guys!

The Saul Hull Under 13 Tournament kicked off last weekend with four teams battling for the first three points. Played in memory of one of GAFFER's greatest supporters the games showcase the youngest footballing talent in the area!

Jora played against Rukanga in the first game which was played at Jora, while Bungule played against Makwasinyi at Bungule primary school.
In this regard, Jora beat Rukanga 7-1. This was the biggest result Jora got in the history of the two teams. No one has ever beaten the other one more than 5 goals since GAFFER started many years back.
Bungule were beaten at home by Makwasinyi 3-1. The winners were happy with the results and they promised to keep the results all the way to win the league. Everyone was amazed by Makwasinyi's display bearing in mind that their under 16s team was beaten 3-0 by Bungule during their opening match at the same venue last season.

Blog by Jimmy Ruwa.

This week saw GAFFER’s most promising young footballers attend a training camp in preparation for games far from home! Hand picked from the sixteen teams that entered the Andrew Murch Under 16 Trophy they promise to be the toughest Youngstars yet!

Each year GAFFER selects the best of its youth players to assemble a squad that will represent the villages against teams in the nearby towns and cities. The week long training camp brings the young men together to eat, sleep and train alongside each other. Under the watchful eyes of coaches Mr Mohamed and Titus Eluid, a bunch of individual talents are transformed into a formidable footballing force! Five days of fitness, ball work and classroom sessions culminated in a warm up game against the local mens team, The Samba Boys. Despite the age and size difference the Youngstars showed their skills and took an emphatic victory by two goals to one! The first proper game will be in a week’s time when the Youngstars travel to Mwatate town. Good luck lads!

The training camp and tour matches have been made possible by Dev’s Kili Climb and his kind supporters! A massive thank you to those involved from all at GAFFER!

The cream of GAFFER’s Under 16 football teams went head to head this weekend to decide the 2011 Champions! After weeks of tough competition there could only be one winner!

The day began with the third place play off where Itinyi met Rukanga and played out a thrilling game that was settled with a pair of stunning goals scored by Rukanga’s Mterengo in the last five minutes! It was then time for the main event to be played in front of hundreds of spectators. The small villages of Jora and Kale don’t usually get a look in at this level. However the dedication and hours of training have come good for the young players of these two up and coming teams. Players as young as 12 years old battled it out in an exciting and well played game that was still goalless at half time. In the second half Jora started to dominate and mid-fielder Jeremiah Joshua ruled the centre of the park before drilling home the winner just before time! Jora were crowned the 2011 Andrew Murch Under 16 champions! Well done lads!

As well as the football action, GAFFER Health once again teamed up with St Josephs of Voi to set up a Voluntary Counseling and Testing facility that would allow the assembled crowd to know their status should they wish to. In all 153 people had professional counseling and were tested for HIV. Thanks to St Josephs for the support once again!