NAIROBI – Legendary South African football figure Jomo Sono is expanding his interests to Kenya with the establishment of an academy in the east African nation.
Sono is also looking to buy a second division club which he can develop and take up into the Kenyan Premier League. The 62-year-old former caretaker coach of Bafana Bafana was in Nairobi on Friday to meet with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who had been responsible for the invitation after the two had met in South Africa.
Odinga said he believes that inadequate investment and sub-standard developmental programs were amongst the reasons Africa failed to see a team into the knockout phase of the World Cup.
And he called on the Kenyan government for assistance, also encouraging the education department to better promote the game at primary school level. Sono has been both owner and head coach of Jomo Cosmos since founding the club in 1982, and is also a highly successful businessman in a number of different ventures,
Currently in the second tier, Cosmos have see-sawed between the top two divisions over the last 10 seasons.
As a spotter and developer of raw potential, Sono has few peers and he has played his part in unearthing a long list of players who have gone on to become household names, such as Phil Masinga, Helman Mkhalele, MacBeth Sibaya, Katlego Mphela, Mark Fish, Morgan Gould and Reneilwe Letsholonyane included.
He's an expert at unearthing gems across the continent and it was Sono that moulded players such as Benjani Mwaruwari, Anthony Laffor, Chris Katongo and Esau Kanyenda, amongst a host of others who have gone on to enjoy successful careers in South Africa and abroad.