Kinoru Stadium in Meru County will play host to the Chapa Dimba Eastern Regional finals this weekend, with eight teams (four boys and four girls’ teams) lined up for a regional title clash.
Setting the stage on Saturday, with the first match, it will be the Mavoko Starlets from Machakos against Syomunyu Secondary from Kitui County. The second tough clash will see Garbatula United from Isiolo County take on Predators from Embu in the boy’s match.
“We are ready for the weekend action, where we’ll be playing against Machakos Boys in our first match. Our plan is to play a tactical game, knowing that our opponents are also very strong. We are determined to win and get a chance to represent our county and the region at large in the national finals. I am equally impressed with the Chapa Dimba initiative, and I believe two or three of my players will be scouted to be among those who will be going to Spain next year,” said Sean Opwora, Head Coach of Chuka University Scorpions.
In another match, Saku Queens from Marsabit will be aiming for the title when they meet Chuka University Starlets in the second girls’ semifinals.
Machakos Boys will face Chuka University Scorpions, the newly crowned champions of Tharaka Nithi County on Saturday.
The regional finals follow the successful completion of grassroots games, that proceeded to sub-county, county and inter-county playoff games played across the eight counties of the Eastern Region that attracted 444 teams.
The weekend matches will be preceded by players and coach clinics at same facility and 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.
The winners from each semi-final group will vie for victory in the finals slated for Sunday, where each winning team (boys and girls) will take home KES. 250,000 and book a slot to represent the region at the national finals set for early next year. The runners-up teams will take home KES. 150,000 each. The Best Goalkeeper, Top Scorer and Most Valuable (boys and girls) will each receive KES. 30,000. In addition to the prize money each player, both winners and runners-up will also get Neon Smartphones, the first locally assembled 4G smartphone in Kenya.