South B United and Acakoro Ladies from Kasarani emerged as the winners of the Chapa Dimba na Safaricom Nairobi region finals which were held over the weekend.
South B United triumphed in the finals after beating Jericho All-Stars from Makadara 2-1 to be crowned Nairobi’s best in the tournament held at Goan Gymkhana grounds -Pangani. Fabio Otieno scored the first goal putting Jericho United ahead in the 27th minute before Alvin Kuka scored an equalizer for South B United in the 33rd minute. Meshack Omondi then scored the winning goal for the Starehe based team in the 74th minute.
Enock Wanyama –MVP South B United had this to say, “The game was tough, but our team stayed focused. We came from a goal down to beat our opponents by two goals. Our main aim is to win national trophy and we will give it our best. We are glad because our struggles have borne fruits.”
In the girls’ finals, Acakoro Ladies from Kasarani emerged victorious after beating Carolina For Kibera FC 5- 4 on penalties after the game ended 1 – 1. Catherine Awuor gave Acakoro Ladies the lead in the 15th minute before Pauline Nyanduko scored the equalizer in the second half.
Pauline Awuor, Coach, Acakoro Ladies, had this to say, “We are delighted that we have the ticket for the national finals. The game was very entertaining and played very responsibly by both teams. The team is greatly motivated as they have won cash prizes and other prizes. We look forward to finals with an aim of bringing the trophy to Nairobi.”
Acakoro Ladies and Jericho All-Stars received a cash reward of KES 200,000 each and will now represent Nairobi region in the national finals scheduled for June 2019 at Kinoru Stadium, Meru County. The runners-up teams; Jericho All-Stars and Carolina For Kibera FC also pocketed KES 100,000. The best players from the tournament also took home SHS 30,000 each.
South B United and Acakoro Ladies now join, Berlin FC from Wajir, Euronuts and Barcelona from Central region, Mombasa’s Shimanzi youth and Changamwe ladies, Kajiado’s Al Ahly and Kitale Queens from Rift Valley, Bishop Njenga Girls and Lugari Blue Saints from Western, Manyatta Boys and Ndhiwa Queens from Nyanza as well as Super Solico and St Mary’s Ndovea from Eastern for the national finals set for June this year.
At the grand finale, the winning boys’ and girls’ teams will each walk away with KES 1 million shillings in prize money. An All-star team has been selected from the 8 regional finals and will attend a training camp in Spain in May during which they will play against local youth sides.