Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Victor Wanyama. [Photo/ V. Wanyama]
Did you know that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Victor Wanyama used to walk for more than 10km to play football with his friends on bare feet when he was young?
That did not stop him from overcoming a myriad of challenges to become the first Kenyan to play in the English Premier League and one of the country’s foremost sporting heroes.
“I started in the streets. I used to go to play football with my friends and sometimes we’d walk something like 10 kilometres just to go and play with some other guys,” Wanyama said when he signed for title-chasing Tottenham.
“We used to play in the street with bare feet. The pitches weren’t so good but it was also a good experience and I believe that made me strong and helped in my upbringing. It was a hard way to grow as a player but it was really good,” he told the club’s official website.
Wanyama against two Crystal Palace players. [Photo/ V. Wanyama]
Raised in a household of abject poverty, Wanyama got inspired by the success of his brother MacDonald Mariga, who won the UEFA Champions League, the Italian league title and a cup at the height of his playing career in 2010. He knew that he needed to believe in himself to make it through the tough journey to the top.
After years of playing with his friends at Nairobi’s Muthurwa area, he signed, as a teenager, for Nairobi City Stars later AFC Leopards and impressed football lovers in the local league.
That gave the now captain of the national team the opportunity to move to Sweden, as a 14-year-old, and train with division one side Helsingborg. Soon, he was bought by Belgium club Beerschot AC, where he stayed for about three years before Scottish football giants Celtic acquired him 2011.
At Celtic, the strong midfielder achieved many things, including helping his club to defeat Barcelona in a Champions League match — by scoring the opening goal. In that match, beat all Barcelona players -- including Messi — to become man of the match.
Wanyama wins a header against then Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney. [Photo/ V. Wanyama]
In 2013, the midfield strongman decided it was time to make the move to the coveted Premier League. Southampton signed him for a record fee, and his great display convinced Tottenham that they needed him to strengthen their squad. He has earned his place as a regular starter in a team of exceptional players.
Wanyama, 26, never allowed success to get into his head, despite his reported monthly salary of more than Sh40 million. He says this is because because of the Christian upbringing of his parents, who continue to guide him to this day.
If there is anything Kenyans can learn from the rags-to-riches inspirational story of Wanyama, it is that we need to believe in ourselves to make it. We must also believe in the abilities of sportsmen and women around us in order to give them the extra energy needed to overcome challenges and succeed. If we don’t, no one else will.
[Photo/ V. Wanyama]
Thankfully, there is a chance now to identify and recognise our heroes in the country. Through the ‘Tujiamini’ (Kiswahili for ‘believe in’) initiative, launched recently by sports gaming company SportPesa, Kenyans have a great opportunity to inspire upcoming athletes to aim for the world stage in their disciplines.
Inspire your heroes to achieve even greater things by adding them to http://bit.ly/2kYNrsy. We have to believe in ourselves and our heroes before others do.