Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA) will officially launch its football program with a friendly exhibition match between the school team and the Kibera Soccer Ladies FC on its new rooftop field this coming Saturday.The girls will wear uniforms and use equipment (balls) donated by Under Armour as they return to representing the school and community at large after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. This program has been in existence for the past 20 years ago following its establishment by Abdul Kassim in 2002.Abdul noticed that the boys in Kibera wouldn’t let the girls join them on the field at a time when football was still very much a boy’s game. He saw the fire in the girls’ eyes as they kicked around balls of paper and string and decided to start the first football team for girls in Kibera. Since there were no other female teams, they played the boys. At first, the boys were extremely superior on the field but the young girls improved and started believing in themselves.They stood up taller realizing they deserved everything the boys did. As the girls got older, Abdul asked them what more he could do to support them. They requested schooling since they couldn’t afford high school tuition and fees.In 2006, Abdul opened an informal school for his football players called the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, the first free high school for girls in Kenya. The students met in the house of the assistant coach and used donated books from a friend. Within a few years, KGSA had over a hundred students, a beautiful two-story building and were sending graduates to university thanks to its partnership with the KGSA Foundation in the USA. In 2011, two KGSA students made the Kenya Women’s Homeless World Cup team and traveled to Paris, France, where Kenya won the whole tournament. KGSA student Rose kicked the game deciding goal in the championship game. Today Rose affectionately called “Achii” plays midfield on the senior women’s team and her two daughters love football too.With Victoria and Awesome strong and courageous high school girls at Kibera Girls Soccer Academy. These young ladies are the future of Kenya!! pic.twitter.com/wepdY7eZfu— U.S. Ambassador Meg Whitman (@USAmbKenya) July 11, 2019 The Kibera Soccer Ladies FC won the Nairobi Division One Title and are headed to the women’s premier league.“The girls really missed playing football during the pandemic,” said KGSA Principal Claris Akinyi who also played on the original soccer team. “We are grateful the girls can play again. Football remains a wonderful tool of empowerment. We hope to be as successful as we were before Covid-19 suspended school athletics. Under Armour’s donation of jerseys and equipment will help rebuild our football program and instill confidence in the new players. We are so grateful to the anonymous supporters and Construction for Change who made the beautiful Astroturf possible.” She added.Today KGSA provides free secondary education to 130 girls every year while offering daily tea and lunch, free sanitary pads, school counseling, life skills clubs, health care, mentorship programs, university scholarships for the top performing students, and of course football! In 2018 and 2019, KGSA beat the national average on the KCSE exams. In July of 2021, KGSA opened its three-story dormitory and is currently boarding 82 girls. To date, KGSA has graduated over 370 girls including 70 who have pursued higher education.
