Mighty Eagles Academy plan the trip of their dreams

The Kenyan club plan on coming to Gothenburg - with help from sponsors.

Mighty Eagles Academy is located in Kitale in Kenya. They have one dream: to play in the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg. Next summer they will hopefully fulfill that dream. Their U17 team is registered for the tournament.

Mighty Eagles Academy was established in 2019.
– The Academy is involved with young people from different villages with poor background here in Kenya. We are committed to nurture football talents from ages 8 to 20 years old, both boys and girls. Our kids are involved in different tournaments and matches here in Kitale and other neighboring regions. We have some talented boys and girls who are also able to secure High School scholarships as they play and participate in their school teams, says Moses Zewedi, the founder and manager of the club.
The dream about the Gothia Cup started when he heard some stories from an academy in Nairobi.
– This is something that led me into searching for more internet information concerning the Gothia Cup tournament and it felt like it's a great opportunity to give our talented young people whom we work with on a daily basis. They can showcase their talents with great exposure, as they will be interacting with many different players from different nations in the world.

The difficult thing is to afford the trip for over 20 players and five leaders.
– Mighty Eagles Academy is a group that has come together from different villages with poor background here in Kenya. We have decided to give it a try in order to make it to the tournament. I understand that getting involved in the tournament can be a very costly affair but it's better to try and fail than not trying at all. We are going to fund our trip to the Gothia Cup through friends and well-wishers contributions, says Moses Zewedi.
He continues:
– Already we’re engaging different stake holders and our local leaders through organizing of fund raising from both corporate groups, companies and individuals. We’re keeping the hope alive and participating in the Gothia Cup 2023 is our main goal now. Today I managed to do a national tv interview and appealed to Kenyans for their support.

He has heard a lot of great things about the tournament.
– What I like the most about the Gothia Cup is actually the way it’s being organized in the most professional manner, just like a World Cup tournament. The media coverage of the tournament is actually top notch and quite different from the tournaments in Kenya. Also bringing young people together from different countries and diverse cultures makes it total different from our tournaments around and I would love to be travelling to Gothia Cup each year, if we only can afford to do so, says the founder.

Their main goal is to collect the money that is necessary and then arrive safely in Gothenburg.
– Then our hope is to see our U17 team give their best as they play against opposing teams, and thereafter interact and become a global family through sports. I think my team will go far depending on what I see during practices and matches against other local teams. We have a team of the most talented and determined young people whereby I’m sure that in case of any availability of the scouting during the tournament, several players from the team will be spotted. During our local matches and tournaments, Mighty Eagles Academy always focusses towards the final and the Gothia Cup won't be any different. Right to Dream Academy, our brothers from Ghana, should know that we’re coming for them, he says with a big laugh.

What are you looking forward to the most?
– What we’re looking forward to the most is to showcase our talents, win the title, build friends and become a Gothia Cup family for future engagements in the tournament.
Do you think more teams from Kenya should take the chance to play in the Gothia Cup?
– I think many teams from Kenya should take the chance and consider playing in the tournament because of the high standard the tournament and it can also be a great platform for the talent nurturing and contributing towards Kenyan players to sign and play for major teams and participate in major championship events around the globe. Lastly, allow me to thank Anna Carlqvist, the tournament secretary, for guiding me through our registration process. Again thank you! says Moses Zewedi.