Football Coaching & Youth Development: Black Cats
The Black Cats Football Academy supports some of the most marginalised and vulnerable young people in Kenya; street children, orphans, internally displaced people, and young people from urban slum communities and low-income rural communities.
Overview
Through football, the Black Cats provides an alternative to street life and gang culture, inculcating positive values of trust, commitment, teamwork, cooperation, discipline and above all providing fun activities for Kenyan girls and boys who would otherwise lack such opportunities.
The Black Cats works is led by dedicated coaches who are from the communities we work with and act as role models and mentors to the young people. The coaches are all qualified as counsellors and licensed by the Kenyan FA.
Sunderland Football Club has supported the Kenyan Black Cats with the kind donation of kit which has made a big impact on the identity of the team and their pride. We now have over 75 children training every day, and as an Academy we take part in the youth league in Kenya.
Video: Black Cats v Canada, football tournament within the Solio community
History of the Project
1996 – Football has been a method that Moving Mountains has used to bring kids together in sport and fun during the many rehabilitation camps that we have held since 1996
2001 – A youth club was founded based in Muthurwa Primary School in Nairobi. Moving Mountains paid for goal posts and nets to be built, provided footballs, boots, and strips and provided the money for the team to enter a local football league and to transport them to matches. We then started to develop football coaching groups in Nairobi, Embu and Western Kenya.
2010 – Helen Kamanthe (Nairobi Black Cat) and Charles Onyimbo (Western Black Cats) joined a Premier Skills Coaching Course, organised by the British Council in conjunction with the English Premier League, gaining valuable experience to take back to their teams.
2011 – The programme was established in Solio
2013 – Former Black Cat Victor Wanyama transferred from Celtic to Saints and becomes the first Kenyan to play in the English Premier League.
2015 – Coach Sammy Githinji joins in Embu and starts to bring the team together with a committed training plan, setting up girls teams, junior and senior teams, and recruiting more coaches.
2022– Black Cats become recognised as an Academy by the Kenyan FA.
2024 – Sunderland FC provide a big injection of support with equipment and kit for the teams
Get Involved
Volunteer as a soccer coach anytime of the year for any period and work with Sammy and his team, helping with ball skills and techniques.
Support the cost of the games and transport for the teams to play in the local youth league and hopefully move up to national juniors.
Take part in an Africamp Soccer Camp with your school and come out to Kenya!
Future Aims
We aim to bring more children off the street and for those who are substance abusers into rehabilitation by involving them in Black Cats Football Clubs. We would like to set up more Black Cats teams throughout other parts of Kenya and continue to provide support structures for children to be a part of.
Black Cats Football Academy Galleries
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