I have recently returned from Kenya where I spent 2 weeks helping out in a school in Kiberia and I can confidently say that football was by far the most popular past time for 98% of the male population regardless of age.

Local bars and eating houses were rammed to capacity every time a premiership game was showing! The whole Kiberia economy would double when one of the top 4 played each other. Needless to say that whenever we ask the kids what they wanted to do the immediate answer was “PLAY FOOTBALL!”

We would have to exhausted our limited resource of games available and invariably save a kick around for the final 15 min of our game sessions. Looking after kids in their environment was a pleasure – give them a ball and stand back and watch the kids, boys and girls, go absolutely wild! Making space or allowing the ball to do the work was against the rules! The balls became a honey comb with hundreds of bees all trying to get their piece of the action, all the kids would swam around the ball, all trying their best to just get a toe to it!

Most games would end in a 0 – 0 draw with penalties  determining the winner! A wall of kids would quickly form creating a tight tunnel from the goal mouth out to the excited striker eagerly ready to give it his best boot!

The kids would jump around screaming willing their team mates to get it their all! I have never seen such excitement, the tension prior to the strike was awesome! Goalie would fly ball would go screaming through the air and often take out an innocent younger kids who might be drinking from the tap behind the goals!

So yes football in Kenya is on an all time HIGH! The World Cup is creating quite a stir, Ghana are the favourite African side and Brazil and England are favoured to amongst the locals!