Al-Hayat from Wajir are the champions of Chapa Dimba Na Safaricom North Eastern Region finals held yesterday at Garissa University Grounds, Garissa town.
Garissa University hosted the fourth regional final of the youth tournament which has been keen on aims scouting for talent, developing grassroots football, and ultimately propelling gifted players to the national team. The four boys teams who took part in the North Eastern finals included; Jamia FC from Mandera, Ifpro from Garissa, Al-Hayat from Wajir and Jack Boys from Dadaab.
Al-Hayat triumphed after putting up a stunning match against Ifpro (Garissa) wining 7:6 in a penalty shoot-out. It was a tough call for both teams who sought to hold North Eastern region supremacy in a match that ended in a penalty shoot-out after 3:3 draw in the regulation time.
Al-Hayat FC from Wajir receive their trophy after emerging winners of the #ChapaDimbanaSafaricom North Eastern Regional Title. #Twaweza
The winners walked away with a cash reward of Shs 200,000 and an opportunity to play in the national grand finale set for 23rd to 25th March this year.
Over 300 games were played across North Eastern with 102 teams taking part in the matches that kicked off on 18th November 2017.
“Plenty of talented youth now have a platform to practice and showcase their abilities and talents courtesy of this tournament. We will continue developing grassroots football and scouting for skilled players to draft into the national team and we are grateful to our partners, Safaricom, for being part of this,” said Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa.
Kapenguria Heroes and Tar Tar Girls from Rift, Mwingi Junior Academy and Ngakaa Talent Academy from Eastern and Ombek red Devils and Plateau Queens from Nyanza are the teams that have qualified for the grand finale so far.
Coast, Western, Central and Nairobi regions are also scheduled to hold their regional finals in the next few weeks.
“We have had a successful run since the kick offs with group stages in September. The winners today have proven to be the best of the best and we congratulate all the teams that made it to the finals! You are all winners!”, said Sylvia Mulinge, Director -Consumer Business.
“We anticipated the win because we trained accordingly. We have an all rounded team with a good attack and very supportive midfield and we believe we can go far. We are prepared for the National finals and hope to win the Ksh 1M and fly to London to meet Wanyama,” said Jamal Bishar, Coach Al-Hayat.
At the grand finale, the winning teams will walk away with Sh1 million each and an opportunity to go for an international training and mentorship camp in London in April this year.
Safaricom has invested Sh100 million towards the program which includes Sh10m worth of prizes as well as funds for renovation of select community pitches through a legacy programme.
