Goalball UK, in partnership with the Kenya Sports Association for the Visually Impaired (KESAVI) and Kenya Academy for Sport (KAS), funded by UK Sport delivered a workforce project in December 2024 to support coaches and officials in Kenya.
Through consultation and planning with KESAVI and KAS it was identified that developing the workforce from multiple regions across Kenya and providing key equipment (such as goalballs, eyeshades, padding, court marking string and tape, etc.) would create the biggest long-term impact for Kenyan goalball. The project also gratefully received financial support from 360 Ability Sport enabling a set of Goalfix Lightweight goals to be donated – the first set ever to be available in the country.
Saturday 7th December
After many months of planning, the project officially began as Goalball UK staff members Alex Bunney (Participation Lead) and Kathryn Fielding (Senior Development Officer) arrived in Nairobi laden with equipment and resources.
Sunday 8th December
Alex and Kathryn met with Charles Nguru Waitherero (from KESAVI) to make the final preparations for the week ahead. This included creating a tabletop replica tactile court.
Monday 9th December
The course participants arrived. They were all visually impaired and some of them had travelled exceptionally long distances on overnight buses to be there. Their enthusiasm and commitment to the project was evident right from the very start. This first day of delivery was theory based providing everyone with some foundation knowledge linked to court set-up, the 1 to 7 system, key rules and referee’s calls. They were also shown how to patch.
Tuesday 10th December
The morning was spent re-capping and building on what had been learnt on day one as well as providing an overview of the procedures for calling time outs and making substitutions. Then, in the afternoon, the group travelled to the Uhuru Hall at the University of Nairobi for the first practical session. After laying a full-size regulation court, a new experience for most of the course participants, the focus of the session was on attack – practicing attacking the high ball line and learning about the different types of shot.
Wednesday 11th December
Another jam-packed day of learning. The morning was spent out in the sunshine (at the University) practicing throwing techniques, and adding progressions, before learning about the different types of passes. The focus of the afternoon session, inside the hall, was then defence – practicing the ‘ready’ and ‘barrier’ positions and transitioning to attack. Following this there was some game play with the course participants able to have a go at some of the officiating roles.
Thursday 12th December
On the penultimate day, Alex and Kathryn and the course participants were joined at the University by a group of visually impaired students and their teachers. Stephen Ojwang (from KAS) also came along to observe. The students were divided into 4 teams and played several games throughout the day, giving the course participants lots of opportunities to practice their newfound coaching and officiating skills. Many of the students showed great raw potential so, with the right support, could progress to play goalball at the highest level.
Friday 13th December
The final day of the course. The course participants were divided into small teams and their goalball knowledge was extensively tested in a fun quiz! Following this there was a ‘closing ceremony’ when everyone was presented with a certificate of achievement and given the opportunity to reflect on their experience and share their aspirations for the future. In the evening, there was a celebratory event with key members of KESAVI.
Saturday 14th December
The equipment was formally handed over to KESAVI and KAS. Everyone said their ‘Thank-yous’ and ‘Goodbyes’ before commencing their journeys home to share what they had learnt (with their colleagues and their communities). So, the end of an incredible week but hopefully the start of the expansion of goalball in Kenya.
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who helped make this project the great success that it was. Supporting the global development of the game, alongside our international federation IBSA, is something that Goalball UK are committed to and feel passionate about.
Kenya Sports Association for the Visually Impaired, President, Charles Nguru Waitherero said:
“Kenya Sports Association for the Visually Impaired (KESAVI) will forever be grateful to Goalball UK and the British people in general for considering Kenya for this project. Truly you guys are ‘leaving no one behind’. Before this training we never had a single trained and certified coach/referee as we only depended on those of us who had qualified by experience. Moving forward the more than a dozen certified persons are now tasked to develop and promote the sport in their respective regions here in Kenya”.
Kenya Academy of Sport, Sports Officer, Stephen Ojwang said:
“It was an amazing week of learning and refining our coaching and officiating skills. A heartfelt thank you to Alex and Kathryn for sharing your invaluable insights and knowledge. This will undoubtedly go a long way in advancing the development of goalball in Kenya”.
Congratulations to all the course participants: Bonface Okwara, Florence Karendi, Ian Mwendwe, Irene Ontiri, Jared Samba Mosota, Julius Ogunda, Michael Kavishe, Michael Muthii Mugo, Mwaguya Felix, Paul Wairegi, Peter Nzioka, Sammy Luvonga and Thuranira Gradrine Nkirote.
