The Kenya Federation for American Football sent representatives to Orlando, Florida for the three-day 2017 USA Football National Conference. The federation, which is the interim body championing the expansion of the sport in Kenya, did this in line with their vision to train more coaches and officials to steer the sport to the next level. Currently, Kenya has an international team preparing to host Jordan in a game that will be its first international match since its inception.
The conference, that was running between the 27th of January to the 29th, was graced by American Football leaders from across the world. In attendance, were also high school athletic directors, administrators, and coaches who had convened to discuss the future of the sport in a week-long celebration leading to the NFL Pro Bowl. The Kenya delegates were Mr. Fredrick Lukandu, Mr.Jimmy Owuato and Mr. Suleiman Abulitsa.
The conference dubbed the 2017 USA Football National Conference was held in the Orange County Convention Center. Realizing the importance of this platform for the growth of the sport in Kenya, KFAF sent a Kenyan delegation led by Suleiman Abulitsa a player on the Kenyan team with interest in coaching.
The conference provided an opportunity to network, explore and learn from elite coaches and administrators with a view to taking the sport to greater heights in Kenya. The delegation is set to gain a lot from the quality presentations on program building, sports nutrition, leadership, strength, and conditioning among other aspects of the game.
Mr. Abulitsa has since expressed optimism in the growth of the game following his experiences in the United States.
“We are glad to have been given this opportunity to represent Kenya. The three days have been greatly inspiring and insightful. We hope to implement everything we learnt at the conference for the growth of the Sport back at home.”
Meanwhile, the Kenyan team under the leadership of coach Ted Dunde has been working consistently to ensure they are well-equipped to hopefully take on Jordan this year. The visit by the Kenya Federation of American Football to the United States was strategic to help bolster the team’s coaching level ahead of the international games that it hopes to play this year.
