Kenya Welcomes Reds Legend Ian Rush

Ian Rush today launched a two-day Liverpool Football Club soccer clinic in Nairobi that he believes could help transform football in Kenya forever.

Speaking at the Standard Chartered-sponsored event inside the Nyayo National Stadium that saw 100 boys and girls from the local Ligi Ndogo league receive specialist training from seven Liverpool Academy coaches, Rush told liverpoolfc.tv that the influence of the two-day clinic will be felt for years to come.
"Today we have seen 100 children from Nairobi being coached by our Academy lads and while they will have loved every minute of the experience - you could see that by the smiles on their faces - I think it will actually be the local coaches who will have probably learnt the most.

"Liverpool Football Club can't be here every day to coach these kids so that's why it's so important that the local coaches from Ligi Ndogo, who have been invited along today, learn as much as they can about how to coach 'The Liverpool Way' and put that learning into practice the next time they take a session away from here.

"Today 100 children will benefit from the coaching Liverpool have provided and another 100 will benefit tomorrow but each one of the Ligi Ndogo coaches has the ability to pass on what they've learnt to up to 500 more kids in their environment.
"When you consider how many coaches are here today soaking up everything our coaches are telling them and learning new training drills to put the kids through, that knowledge could be invaluable."

Rush, who was at Anfield on Sunday to see the Reds open the season in such dramatic fashion against Arsenal, flew out to Kenya on Monday morning in his new role as Club Ambassador and was quick to identify the far-reaching influence Liverpool's visit here, facilitated by new shirt sponsor Standard Chartered, could have on the national football scene.
"I've travelled all over the world with Liverpool and Wales and I'm told that the one thing letting down so many very talented young footballers in Kenya is a severe lack of adequate football coaching. Lots of kids who may have had very promising futures in the game see their talents go unfulfilled because there aren't enough coaches here who have the skills, the experience and the expertise to take them to that to that next level. For me, that's why the work Adam [Flynn] and the rest of our coaches are doing today is so important. They're training the kids but while the kids are eating their lunch, they're coaching the coaches.
"We can't change things overnight but as a club, it's right that Liverpool Football Club is leading the way in trying to change things for the better here. If we can put a smile on the faces of all the children and leave something of a lasting legacy here in Nairobi, then maybe the next time we come back we'll be seeing some budding stars of the future coming through."