The Safaricom Chapa Dimba competition is heading to Kirinyaga County this weekend for the central regional finals. Eight teams, four boys and four girls’ teams, will battle it out for the regional crown at Wang’uru Stadium starting Saturday, 23rd March.
The weekend matches will mark the final regional finals of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba fourth edition, which officially kicked off in August last year in Western Kenya.
The four women teams include two times regional champions Barcelona Ladies FC from Laikipia, Kartzville FC from Kirinyaga, St. Joseph Sec from Murang’a and Kiwanja Queens from Kiambu. The boys’ category will feature Karatina Homeboyz from Nyeri, Lysa FC from Laikipia, Kiaga Sec from Kirinyaga and M-PESA Foundation from Kiambu.
Saturday will feature the first semi-final with defending champions Barcelona Ladies FC going against the host giants Kartzville FC from Kirinyaga. The second match will see Nyeri’s Karatina Homeboyz take on Lysa FC from Laikipia before Kiwanja Queens of Kiambu battle it out with St. Joseph Sec from Murang’a in the third match of the day. Coach James Mutahi will lead his side Kiaga Secondary as they welcome M-PESA Foundation Academy from Kiambu to close the day.
The matches will be preceded by players and coach clinics which will involve training on various aspects of the football tournament. This is including the use of GPS Sports Vests, which Safaricom has introduced to aid in the scouting of players by collecting data and building on the players profiles during the matches using metrics that are globally recognized and accepted.
Emman Wafula Gullit, Head Coach Barcelona Ladies FC expressed confidence in his team ahead of this weekend face-offs noting, “As we prepare to play this weekend, our goal is to win all of our matches and defend our regional title for the third consecutive time. The team is in good form as we have been training daily and participating in a few local competitions that I believe has helped strengthen my girls. We ask our fans to come out in large number and support us.”
The Central region featured a total of 325 teams from six counties, namely Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Laikipia, and Nyeri, with 288 boys’ teams and 37 girls’ teams participating at the grassroots level.
Winners from each semi-final group will seek victory in the finals slated for Sunday, where each winning team will take home Ksh 250,000 and book a slot to represent the region at the national finals set for mid-April in Kisumu. The second-best teams will each take home Ksh 150,000. The Best Goalkeeper, Top Scorer and Most Valuable will each receive Ksh 30,000. In addition to the prize money, each player, both winners and runners-up will also get neon smartphones from Safaricom.