Deportivo from Asembo aims to conquer footballing world. The dusty pitch is no encumbrance for the teenage players and soccer aficionados gathered to watch a local football match pitying the most adored two local teams.
But the majority of the fans are actually here to observe and cheer up the team Deportivo la Gaza, which comprises local boys, whom before engaging in football had no inkling of what their future would be.
And despite the dilapidated shoes and rugged football jerseys and dusty football pitch, the Deportivo La Gaza team are all out to prove all and sundry that they got it all to compete at the highest level and be the best.
And for sure at the end of 90 minutes, Deportivo walloped their opponents by four goals to nil. But winning this march just underpinned the hard work and the vision Deportivo has had since its inception in 2018.
According to the founder Horace Otieno, many youths have benefited so far from the many programs other than football that Deportivo has offered.
These programs include counseling, carrier development, studies among others. One such beneficiary and a main cog of the team is Frederick Ochieng commonly known as Bongo amongst his peers .
He is a living testimony to the team. Fredrick joined secondary school in the year 2018 at Memba secondary which is a local secondary school.
Fredrick is from a single-parent family though living with his grandmother who has been very supportive when it comes to Bongo’s studies.
It was so unfortunate that the boy joined a very bad company that influenced him with drug abuse and too much peer pressure thereby dropping out of school.
The team identified the Fredrick during a local tournament and approached him. “We discussed with him at some length and joined our side as a player. Out of this, the team further organized for a trip and a camp which lasted for three weeks in Kisumu county,” says Horace.
There he found the opportunity to fully be counseled by sharing with both the benefits of education and negative effects of drug abuse.
“We were amazed that after the trip Bongo approached one of our team member to support him in searching for a chance in Ndwara secondary school where he was granted admission and he is now fully back to his studies,” says Horace.
Back to Deportivo, the team has participated in many competitions mostly locally organized football tournaments.
In August 2018 Deportivo LA Gaza FC emerged as the third-best team in a local tournament organized at Kadedi grounds.
The tournament comprised of 10 teams from West Asembo ward.
In the same month, Deportivo LA Gaza FC organized another tournament on its grounds and emerged as runners up. The tournament comprised of nine teams from both West and East Asembo.
In December 2018 Deportivo LA Gaza FC was invited to participate in an annually organized tournament by the name Ballack at Raliew.
This tournament proved to be a hill task because of many teams that turned up from both Asembo and Seme.
“We were eliminated in quarters,” says Horace.
The future plan of team Deportivo LA Gaza FC is to see the team and players fully sponsored with well-equipped football materials like enough boots, jerseys, balls, cones, etc.
According to Horace, their plan is also to work hand in hand with local partners/sponsors to mutually benefit all involved.
