This weekend saw Safaricom Chapa Dimba light up Homabay County as the grassroots football program continues to nurture talent across counties. Yesterday, Wakiaga Polytechnic grounds was the venue for the tournament between Karabondi FC and Mbita High School, with the former taking it home with a 1-0 win. Karabondi secured their win with a penalty kick in the 23rd minute, expertly taken by Brian Odhiambo after Mbita’s defender Isaac Elshadai handled the ball in the box.
In Migori County, Awendo Academy clinched the county finals title by defeating Kangeso FC 4-2 in a penalty shootout, following a goalless draw between the two teams at the end of regulation time.
“This is our first time participating in the Chapa Dimba tournament, and emerging as county champions is something we are immensely proud of. As a team, we have experienced a well-organized tournament, and I want to encourage Safaricom to continue with the spirit as it helps expose many untapped talents. We knew the finals were not going to be a walk in the park, as Mbita High School is a tough team. In the second half, they came back very strong and almost equalized. However, we managed to defend the one goal that we scored in the first half through a penalty, which ultimately made us victorious at the end of the day,” said Jacob Otieno, Head Coach of Karabondi FC.
Onto to the girls’ tournaments, Alara Girls from Karachuonyo lost to Ogande Girls who took it home with a 2-0 score. Mercy Amuomo made her mark by opening the scoring sheet in the 9th minute after receiving a cross from Julin Zena. She doubled the score in the 77th minute, propelling Ogande Girls into the lead. Today’s brace brought her total goals scored in the tournament to eight, earning her the title of top scorer, which she tied with her teammate, Joy Marvelous. She also emerged as the Most Valuable Player, winning a prize of KES. 10,000, including a TVET Scholarship courtesy of the Safaricom Foundation.
In Migori County, Agenga Girls thrashed Awendo Queens 6-0 to claim the county championship title in the Girls’ category. Selphar Lugaye scored a hat trick, while Eunice Akinyi netted a brace, and Christine Akeyo scored one goal.
The winning teams in both the boys’ and girls’ categories each took home KES 75,000, while the runners-up each received KES 30,000. Top scorers and the Best Goalkeepers from both the boys’ and girls’ teams each received KES 10,000, with the Most Valuable Players (MVP) taking home KES 10,000, plus an additional TVET scholarship to pursue a course of their choice, courtesy of Safaricom and M-PESA Foundations.
All twelve county winners (six boys’ teams and six girls’ teams) from the six counties of the Nyanza region will participate in the inter-county playoffs scheduled for next week. Eight teams (four boys’ and four girls’ teams) will then proceed to the regional finals, which are set for September 30th to October 1st in Kisumu.