Man United coaches training 128 Excel Academy children

Passionate. Man United Soccer Schools coach Mike Neary interacts with some of the youngsters during a training match in Kampala. The coaches were impressed with the passion kids in Uganda have for football. PHOTO BY MAKHTUM MUZIRANSA

What you need to know:

  • “Football is our passion and through such training partnerships, we can positively impact both on the future livelihoods of these kids and also on the game,” Gwayambadde observed.

KAMPALA. There are few brands bigger than Manchester United in world football, the club’s on-pitch struggles this season notwithstanding.

For 128 Excel Academy children due to be trained two Man United Soccer Schools coaches Mike Neary and Chris O’Brien, the chance to be trained by the best doesn’t fall very often.

It is one they intend to sieze with both hands thanks to an opportunity provided through the club’s partnership with Kansai Plascon.
“We have been impressed with the passion kids in Uganda have for football,” Neary told Daily Monitor yesterday at StarTimes Stadium Lugogo.

“United is a brand famed for unearthing some of the very best young players and we hope to set the path rolling to discover the next Marcus Rashford or Jesse Lingard here in Kampala.”
Neary and O’Brien follow a visit from Quiton Fortune, an ex-Man United player who was in Kampala last week on a Kansai Plascon-organised visit.

The two coaches emphasised that despite a grand total of 128 young players, every single child would get full attention from them.
“We feel that we are investing in the future of Uganda and that is a way of giving back for Plascon,” the company’s Regional Manager for Special Projects Lungi Koni noted.
Excel Soccer Academy director Patrick Gwayambadde was buoyed by the imminent session.

“Football is our passion and through such training partnerships, we can positively impact both on the future livelihoods of these kids and also on the game,” Gwayambadde observed.