By Ronald Njoroge
NAIROBI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese television broadcast company, StarTimes plans to nurture sports talents in Africa in order to build future champions.
StarTimes vice president Mark Lisboa said in a media briefing in Nairobi that the sport sector in the continent is not yet fully developed.
"We therefore want to nurture sports talent in Africa so that sportsmen and women can play an integral part in socio-economic development," Lisboa said during the launch of the program for German football legend Lothar Matthaus' tour of Kenya.
Matthaus, who is Germany's most-capped player, will be in Nairobi on Sept. 19 and 20. The tour has been organized by StarTimes and German Bundesliga.
Lisboa said that his organization will target on sports development in all fields. "We will not be limited to popular sports like football but all fields where we see opportunities like athletics, hockey, taekwondo and boxing," he added.
Lisboa said that they hope to focus on those kids under 16 because they are eager to take instructions from experienced players.
"So that by the time they are 20 years old, they can compete globally," he said. "We believe if we start out developing young players right now, the dream of Kenya participating in football World Cup will be achieved."
StarTimes launched a rich football broadcast schedule to Kenyan subscribers last month. The comprehensive live football offering is composed of major international tournaments and top-tier European football leagues including the Bundesliga 2017/18 season during which 324 matches will be broadcast.
