ISSEA football

This year the ISSEA football tournament was to be held in Zambia, Lusaka.  It was the first time i had been selected in any ISSEA team and was therefore, extremely excited  to go.  The preparation before the tournament was tough but all of the players knew that the tournament is both mentally and physically demanding.  We left in the early morning of November 2nd.  This was the first time i was ever going to Central Africa.  It was interesting to see how different, it terms of development, Zambia and Kenya are as countries.  Zambia is a very calm place with lots of unused land which can be used later for further development.  Upon our arrival at the school, we were introduced to the organizers of the event and given a tour of AISL (American International School of Lusaka).  Similarly to ISK, their school os quite open and spread out.  After our introductions and a little training session on their beautiful fields we were introduced to our hosts for the next few days.  Our hosts Mr. and Mrs. Mekeb were in fact Kenyan.  They were very amiable people and myself and Arnold felt at home with them.

The next day the tournament began.  We knew it was going to be a tough day for us as we playing four matches.  We didn't have the greatest of starts. losing to the defending cha,pions Uganda.  However, from here it just got better.  We won our next three games against Tanzania, Zimbabwe and the hosts, Zambia, respectively.  Apart from our first game we showed our qualities in the passing game we enjoy playing.

The second day of the tournament was even tougher than the first even though we had only two games on the day.  Our bodies were sore and we were tired.  However, we pushed through and gave the best team in the tournament thus far, Ethiopia, their toughest game.  We kept our heads up after the loss to Ethiopia and convincingly beat South Africa.  Our good performances had led to us the semi-final which was to be played the next day against Uganda.

I remember being quite nervous on the day of the semi final and final.  We prepared thoroughly for our game against Uganda and put out our best performance of the tournament.  We were confident, aggressive and composed which enabled us to be deserved 3-2 victors.  We carried all the excitement and emotion into our final.  The final was a great experience for all of us.  Some of us, like myself, had never really played on such a stage.  From the beginning to the end of the game we gave everything and in the end it all paid off because when the final whistle blew, we were ISSEA CHAMPIONS.  The first ISK team ever to win this prestigious tournament.

This ISSEA experience was one of the greatest experiences in my life.  It pushed me to limits i thought i could never reach.  It made overcome obstacles and show my true character.  The team shared a great bond and we were all as excited to be the first ever ISK champions.  It is moments like these that really define you as a person.