Newly launched Konza City Stars FC is aiming for the skies.
The team, composed of workers stationed at the great Konza Technopolis Development Authority in Machakos County, aims to punch tickets to the top-tier Football Kenya Federation (FKF) leagues in the coming years.
The outfit, formed late last year, played its first high-profile friendly match on Friday night under floodlights at the Konza Technopolis Grounds. The hosts lost 5-3 against visiting Jua Kali Vitambi FC from Machakos.
Dazzling striker Joshua Mutua scored a hat-trick for Konza in the 37th, 40th and 77th minutes as Vitambi FC found the back of the net through James Kasamo (18th), Joseph Nyaga (45+4), Nicholas Nzuki (49th), Jonathan Mutua (54th) and Peter Munyao (86th).
“We are very impressed to visit Konza. It’s an honour to play on a pristine artificial turf like this. Out there, we are used to playing on dusty and dilapidated surfaces,” Vitambi FC captain Patrick Mutua told Standard Sports after the sweet victory.
“We have enjoyed our outing here, especially touring the state-of-the-art facilities, including the fine roads, abundant electricity, the superbly built Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the magnificent Data Centre, the floodlights, among others. We promise to make more trips here to engage in many tournaments,” Patrick reiterated.
Konza City Stars captain James ‘ Fikshan The Great’ Nganga said the cutthroat clash against their Machakos town-based opponents allowed them to express their skills, thoughts and talents on the pitch.
“As a new team, we are trying to gel. We are striving to create chemistry, and the match gave us a chance to meet with other employees from different departments within this smart city,” Nganga underlined.
The 28-year-old Software Engineer, who has been with the Technopolis for three years, said they opted to form a football club first at the organisation when they realised 90 per cent of the employees have a soft spot for the beautiful game.
” Other sports disciplines are also in the pipeline. Soon there will be opportunities for swimmers, runners, golfers among others,” Nganga highlighted.
Since establishing the football club, Nganga says the organisation’s employees have not only been fit but have improved on their socialisation, interaction and networking skills.
The skipper encourages more Kenyan athletes to pursue courses on ICT so they can access employment opportunities with the Technopolis.
“We are glad that we now have two FKF Division Two players within our midst after they competently secured employment. We hope to see high-profile charges join our ranks in the coming years,” Nganga stated.
