AN EXPERIENCED footballer duo is training kids for free in the city's Southside.

Ex-Rangers youth player Christian 'Christiano' Kisuka and Camelon Juniors midfielder Arnault Casa run weekly practices with the intent to make sports more accessible.

Their sessions, held at Toryglen Regional Football Centre are well-known in the community as a fun option to get children moving. Since 2019, the pair has welcomed dozens of little athletes.

Saturday mornings from 9am to 10am are now reserved for practice in many local families' planners.

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Kisuka, who was a striker before he turned to coaching, said: "I thought: why not help kids, give them something to enjoy during lockdown, when they were trapped in their houses?

"Most people couldn’t handle the fact that they were being locked in and having a child myself, I knew how that felt for parents to be stuck with kids in the house.

"With the experience I have, being an ex-pro, I decided to train kids and now, it’s a passion of mine, I love doing it."

What started out as a lockdown project has grown into a weekly activity attracting up to 40 children.

Beyond getting them moving, the trainers hope to pass on their love of football to the youngsters.

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The 30-year-old, from Shawlands added: "How can you not love football?

"Even when I was a kid, I was kicking a ball and from then, my passion just grew. And luckily, I always had the skill and the talent as well. Football is number one."

Co-coach and primary teacher Arnault Kasa said: "In addition to that is the fact that football can unite people from so many different backgrounds and it is something that's really helpful for mental and physical wellbeing, for the children as well."

"It is also a way of engaging people and creating new relationships with the children and the parents, making the ties in the community that much stronger. I think that’s really important."

Inspired by their own childhoods and growing up in Scotland after moving here from Kongo and the Czech Republic, they believe in the community-building aspect of the sport.

Football was a big part of their journeys as they found their place in a new country and made friends, including each other, along the way.

Mr Kisuka said: "Being in the position that we grew up here, not knowing anyone and the language being a big barrier, it was the only way to make friends.

"When we were growing up, it was tough, so helping these kids makes me happy, especially doing it from the heart."

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Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

Mr Kasa added: "We live in a world where we see a lot of racism and we want to make a positive change, have a conversation with the parents and the kids and make them understand that we are all humans and we are more alike than different.

"We want to impact them on the football side but also, on a human level. We want them to be decent human beings."

Operating on a donation basis, the footballers use the money they receive from parents to buy equipment and pay for facilities. Making money isn't what this is about, they said.

Thanks to a recent boost from the National Lottery Community Fund, they currently train at Toryglen Regional Football Centre, which is a welcome upgrade.

In the future, they plan to expand the program by employing more coaches, starting a team and branching out into a national enterprise, built on football skills and community. 

If you would like to reach out and get involved, email arnaultkasa@gmail.com or christianokisuka@hotmail.co.uk.