This archive report was first published on 5 July 2019.
On Wednesday, former Everton midfielders Stephen Pienaar and Leon Osman brought smiles to the faces of Kenyan fans during a kit donation exercise at Kariobangi Community Grounds. The event was part of the Kits for Africa initiative, launched by Sportpesa three years ago.
According to Everton FC's official website, the donations are typically made by Evertonians and fans of other English clubs. This initiative encourages football fans to donate their old kits to communities that love sport across Africa.
Osman, who helped launch the campaign with Sportpesa over two years ago, expressed his delight at seeing the campaign's growth. 'I came here in 2017 to this same pitch in Kariobangi to meet the local people and launch the campaign. To come back and see how things have developed and seen how big the campaign has become is brilliant,' he said.
The Everton squad will be in the country to take on Sportpesa Cup winners Kariobangi Sharks on Sunday as they prepare for their English Premier League action set to kick off in August.
Osman has been a key figure in the campaign, and his words of encouragement resonated with the beneficiaries. 'A huge crowd gathered for the donation today and you could see what it meant to people. Hopefully, their teams will really benefit from what they have received. It's a fantastic scheme for SportPesa and Everton to be involved in,' he added.
