NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 29 – Kenya’s journey came to an end in the Phygital Football Contenders Tournament after bowing out at the quarter-final stage following a loss to the South American giants Brazil.
The tournament, held at the ADNEC Convention Centre in Abu Dhabi, Kenya, was eliminated at the last eight stage both in the digital and physical formats; (5-2) in the signal stage and (1-5) in the physical stage, securing Brazil a spot in the semi-finals.
Topping Group E, Kenya secured their spot in the quarter-finals ahead of the United States and Uzbekistan.
Their group stage performance was an important achievement, considering it was Kenya’s debut in the tournament.
This performance positions Kenya as Africa’s top-ranked Phygital football team and strengthens them in securing one of the six invitational slots at the prestigious Games of the Future to be held from December 18 to 23, 2025, in Abu Dhabi.
Brazil, having victory over Kenya, booked its spot, joining Armenia, Bosnia, and Mexico as other teams that already qualified for the Games of the Future.
eSports Kenya Federation President Ronny Luigi expressed his pride in the teams confidence in their future prospects.
“This being our debut, I can say the boys did well. The first objective was to qualify for the Phygital contenders stage. Then the second objective was to get out of the group stage. We fell just one step shy of the bigger goal of booking a direct ticket to the Games of the Future by finishing top 4. With the lessons we have learned, we guarantee you that Kenya will come back stronger,” Lusigi said.
The Kenyan squad is expected to return home on July 30.
