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Uefa Champions League arrives in Kenya for three-day tour
The UEFA Champions League trophy is touring Kenya for the first time in 13 years, making stops in Nairobi from Thursday to Saturday.
The prestigious Uefa Champions League trophy is back in Kenya after 13 years of waiting. The last time the trophy was in the country was in March 2012, when it was presented to President Mwai Kibaki at his Harambee House office in Nairobi.
Celebrated German footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger is accompanying the trophy on its three-day tour of Kenya, which began on Thursday and will conclude on Saturday evening.
Schweinsteiger won the Uefa Champions League trophy with German giants Bayern Munich in 2013.
The 40-year-old former midfielder spent a massive 17 seasons with Bayern Munich. His achievements with the club include eight Bundesliga titles, seven DFB-Pokal (German Cup) titles, a Uefa Champions League title, a Fifa Club World Cup title and a Uefa Super Cup title.
With Germany, he won the 2014 Fifa World Cup title. The Heineken Uefa Champions League Trophy Tour of Kenya is part of the final leg of the global tour. The trophy has visited Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa and Zambia in this final leg.
The tour is part of a partnership between Dutch multinational brewing company Heineken, and the Uefa Champions League, an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa).
Retired Kenyan footballer McDonald Mariga won the Uefa Champions League with Italian side Inter Milan in 2010.
The trophy will be presented to President William Ruto later on Friday.
Kenyan football fans will also get a chance to see and pose for photographs with the trophy while it is placed on a plinth.
After briefing the media this morning at Serena Hotel in Nairobi, Schweinsteiger, and representatives from Heineken and Uefa are expected to present the trophy to Ruto at State House in Nairobi this afternoon.
The trophy is scheduled to be on public display on Saturday afternoon at a venue yet to be announced.
On Saturday morning, Schweinsteiger will again interact with Kenyan football legends at an event organised by Heineken, Kenya Wine Agencies Limited, and the Football Kenya Federation at Serena Hotel.