Spain-based footballer Bradley Jan Eloff who has Kenyan roots.
When young Bradley Eloff started playing football in Kawangware, Nairobi County, it was for the love of the game, which brought him into contact with other children from the surrounding informal settlements.
Now 17, he has turned his passion into a career and is on the verge of success with U.E Sant Andreu, an under-19 football team based in Barcelona, Spain.
"Football was something I did not do for the sake of training or to become a professional, but it was something that allowed me to be with my friends and neighbours out there in Kawangware. I joined a team when I was eight years old and just kept going from there," he says.
Now 17, he is an integral part of the U.E. Sant Andreu U-19 team.
"I didn't expect to be where I am today. It came as a surprise, but my love for football has always been there, not just as a job or a profession, but for fun".
The youngster attended two football academies in Spain before being called up for trials with Sant Andreu and finally getting the chance to play for the team.
He started at the Avanza Football Academy in Montgat, Barcelona, before moving on to the Kaptiva Sports Academy in Sant Cugat, also in Barcelona.
The Spanish leagues took a break for the Christmas holidays and he returned to Kenya for a three-week break.
He went back to his roots in Kawangware to train with the Magic 90 team on the dusty pitches.
It is something he loves to do.
"This is where I learnt to play football; I remember starting here as a young boy. I never knew how to juggle or dribble the ball, but I learned quickly, that's a good thing. As you can see, our training is not overly complicated, just a bunch of guys getting together and playing football," he said in Kawangware.
Education is key to his development. Although his football is on the right track, he attends the AESA Prep Academy in Barcelona. The Grade 12 student says his parents insisted on a good education to complement his talent.
Eloff is open to representing Kenya and is working hard to get noticed by the national U-20 selectors.
He is keen to follow in the footsteps of other Kenyans at football academies and U-19 teams in Spain such as Adrian Kibet and Amos Wanjala.
Kibet and Wanjala are part of the Nastic Sports Academy in Tarragona, near Barcelona.
Coincidentally, Eloff has played against the Nastic Academy before and interacted with the boys after overhearing them speaking Swahili during the match.
"To be honest, I would just love the chance to play for the national team. It is something I have dreamed of many times. For me it is not just about myself, it is about representing the country. We Kenyans are amazing (at football) and that's a fact I know. So if I can prove that from a national point of view, I would feel really amazing.
The difference he has noticed between Kenyan and Spanish football is the style of play, where, unlike in Kenya, there is less dribbling and more passing as you move forward and shooting when you get the chance.
Bradley says he spends most of his time training and going to school, leaving little time for socialising. For him, more hours of training will help him to be consistent and showcase his skills so that he can make an impact on the game in both Kenya and Spain.
Spain has a different language and culture, but Bradley has learnt to adapt and speak the language.
He also speaks fluent Swahili because he grew up in Kileleshwa and not at school.
He gets to practise it while in Kenya as all his Magic 90 training mates speak Swahili to him, the common language on the training ground.
His advice to aspiring players is that it is not easy to succeed as a player out there and you have to work hard to prove yourself in a foreign country.
