Safaricom Chapa Dimba heads to Kirinyaga County this weekend for central regional finals with eight teams (four boys and four girls’ teams) set for the regional crown showdown at Wang’uru Stadium.
The eight teams include the two times regional champions Barcelona Ladies FC from Laikipia, Kartzville FC from Kirinyaga, St. Joseph Sec from Murang’a and Kiwanja Queens from Kiambu in the girls’ category. The boys’ category will feature Karatina Homeboyz from Nyeri, Lysa FC from Laikipia, Kiaga Sec from Kirinyaga and M-PESA Foundation from Kiambu.
Kicking off the action on Saturday with the first semi-final will be the defending champions Barcelona Ladies FC 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.
“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. We aim to get an opportunity to represent our region in the nationals since our ambitions were halted during the last edition due to the pandemic. 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,” said Emman Wafula Gullit, head coach Barcelona Ladies FC.
The weekend showdown marks the final regional finals of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba fourth edition, which officially kicked off in August last year in Western Kenya.
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.
The matches will be preceded by players and coach clinics which will involve training on various aspects of the football tournament 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.
Safaricom Chapa Dimba aims to provide a structured 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.
