ZCZC
BSP-04
FBL-EUR-C1-LIVERPOOL-TOTTENHAM-KEN
Origi and Wanyama put Kenya on Champions League map
NAIROBI, May 31, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Liverpool striker Divock Origi and
Tottenham Hotspur’s Victor Wanyama are the talk of Kenya ahead of Saturday’s
European Champions League final in Madrid.
In football-mad Kenya, a nation of 50 million in East Africa, there is hope
the two athletes can shine a positive spotlight on it as fans relish the
prospect of a key Kenyan role, even if Origi is Belgian born.
While Kenyan fans already have the feast of the Africa Cup on Nations to
look forwards to in June the Champions League final is dividing opinion on
the training ground at Nairobi club Ligi Ndogo.
“This is the first time two players of Kenyan origin will take part in a
Champion’s League final,” says 28-year-old youth coach Kenneth Amolo.
“Wanyama and Origi will represent Kenya on the world stage, it’s great.”
Another youth coach taking a break from action, Lawrence Omondi, tells AFP
he’ll be supporting Spurs.
“Wanyama is the captain of our national side, and he is our best player, so
we have to back him.”
“We have to back the captain of the national side, right,” he insisted of
Wanyama, a role-model who won his first Kenya full international cap at 15.
Wanyama is a solid central midfielder but is also the first Kenyan to score
in the European Champions League back when he starred for Celtic, netting in
an unforgettable win over Barcelona.
The stocky Wanyama has only started 13 Premier League games this season but
has turned out six times so far in the Champions League and is highly thought
of by the Spurs faithful.
Origi, for his part, has already made a huge Champions League impact at
Anfield, scoring two goals in Liverpool’s sensational comeback against
Barcelona in this year’s semi-final.
And while Origi, who transferred from Lille to Liverpool in 2014, plays for
Belgium, he also enjoys huge support in Kenya as the son of a former Kenya
football captain Mike Okoth.
His dad is famous for making the unusual transition from ‘keeper to striker
in a lengthy career for Kenya.
“He was born and bred in Belgium, but he still has a link with Kenya,” says
Austin Oduor, Origi’s uncle and himself a former Kenya international.
“He comes here regularly and he speaks good Swahili,” he added of the
language that along with English is the nation’s official tongue.
The pair also represent different ethnic groups in a highly diverse nation.
“Origi from a Luo family, and Wanyama from a Luhya family,” says sports
journalist Elias Makori.
These two ethnic groups are historically associated with football in Kenya,
with the Luo and Luhya supporting rival clubs, Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards
respectively.
The Champions League final has even been renamed the “Mashemeji derby” by
Kenyans in reference to the derby between those two clubs.
“Previously people have been saying the Champions League is a tournament
for foreign players, but now it is coming closer to home,” said Makori.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0841 hrs