Barcelona Ladies SC and Lysa FC from Laikipia are the Central region champions of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba fourth edition. They won in the regional finals held at Wang’uru Stadium in Kirinyaga County.
Barcelona Ladies, the two-time winners and defending champions of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Central region, successfully defended their title for the third year in a row after beating their opponents St. Joseph from Murang’a with a resounding 5-0 victory.
Lysa FC celebrates after defeating M-PESA Foundation Academy to win the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Session 4 Central region final match at Wang’uru stadium
In the Boys’ category, Lysa FC from Laikipia County staged a remarkable comeback after initially trailing 1-0 to secure their inaugural regional title in the Safaricom Chapa Dimba tournament. They defeated M-PESA Foundation Academy from Kiambu 3-2 in a thrilling match.
Both Barcelona Ladies SC and Lysa FC (Boys) received Ksh. 250,000 each and tickets to represent the Central region in the Safaricom Chapa Dimba National finals slated for next month in Kisumu County. The runners-up: St. Joseph Girls from Murang’a and M-PESA Foundation Academy from Kiambu received Ksh. 150,000 each.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP), Best Goalkeeper, and Top Scorer (boys and girls) each received Ksh. 30,000.
In addition to the grand prize, each player from the winning team took home a Neon Ultra phone, as the runners-up players each took home a Neon Smarter Phone.
Central region marks the last regional finals of the fourth edition of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba as the games now head to Kisumu for the national finals.
The 4th edition of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Central region featured a total of 325 teams from all the five counties comprising Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Laikipia, and Nyeri.
The winners of Central region, Barcelona Ladies SC and Lysa FC all from Laikipia County have joined other regional champions who qualified for the national finals. They include; Ebwali FC and Brenda Girls from Western, Obunga FC and Plateau Queens, also known as Nyakach Girls from Nyanza region, PASC Langa and Wiyeta Girls from Rift Valley, Chuka Uni Scorpions and Syomunyu Sec from Eastern, Bandari Youth and Changamwe Ladies from Coast and Wajir All Stars, Wajir Queens from North Eastern and Young Kings and Dagoretti Mixed Girls from Nairobi.
Lysa had made it to the finals after edging out Karatina Homeboyz from Nyeri 4-2 in post-match penalties. Barcelona had advanced to the finals after beating Kartzville FC from Kirinyaga 4-0. On the other hand, M-PESA Foundation Academy had made it to the finals after defeating the host Kiaga Secondary from Kirinyaga County, while St. Joseph Sec had made it after beating Kiwanja Queens from Kiambu 4(1)-3(1) in a narrow victory in a post-match penalty shootout.
The Safaricom Chapa Dimba tournament aims to provide a platform for scouts and coaches to tap into new talent and build feeder systems for the Kenyan football leagues across the country while also training a total of 250 coaches. The tournament targets footballers aged between 16 and 20 years old.