In Summary :
- Ebwali Boys will square it out with Compel Sportif from Bungoma in the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Western finals.
- Compel Sportif’’s booked their spot in the final after sinking John Osogo Fc on penalties.
- In the Girls’ category Lugari Progressive beat Maroon Queens.
- winners (boys and girls) will take home KES. 250,000 and represent the region at the national finals .
Vihiga’s champion Ebwali Boys will square it out with Compel Sportif from Bungoma in the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Western region finals set for , Sunday 27 August at the Bukhungu Stadium.
Ebwali weathered a late rally by The Menace from Kakamega to secure a 3-2 win in the last match of the day-long semifinals attended by thousands of fans.
Ebwali took the lead in the 12th minute through Austin Ondongo who scored a delightful goal. Sharif Muranda equalised for The Menance via a freekick that sailed all the way through 10 minutes before the break.
Ebwali started the second half brightly, and a thunderbolt by Tom Oserio restored their lead. Captain Derrick Oketch made it 3-1 in the 65th minute following a six-yard box melee. The Menace made the final minutes nervy, after Muranda scored his second goal via a penalty 7 minutes from time but Ebwali hang on to win and sail into the Western region final.
“We were a bit lax in the final 20 minutes due to fatigue, but we are happy to make it through, and our goal is to get a slot for the nationals. I am inspired by Benson Omalla and I hope that I can follow in his footsteps,” said Oketch of Ebwali Boys.
In the first boys semifinal, Compel Sportif’’s booked their spot in the final after sinking Busia’s John Osogo on 5-3 penalties after a 3-3 draw in regular time. Titus Gambo, fired a hat trick for Compel Sportif as Ibramovic Twalaha, Victor Mango and Silvester Adundo scored a goal each for John Osogo.
“It is really amazing to score a hat trick. Though the game was tough, we kept pressing especially at the second half to earn the draw and we are thankful we emerged victorious in the shootout. We promised our fans to win this trophy and we are going to deliver,” said the hat trick hero, Gambo of Compel Sportiff.
In the Girls’ category, the home team and region’s reigning champions Lugari Progressive demonstrated their pedigree to beat Maroon Queens from Vihiga County 3-0, courtesy of Marion Musanga’s goal in the 44th minute, Linda Achieng’s strike 3 minutes after the break and Mitchel Jepkogoi’s header in 11 minutes from full time.
Lugari Progressive coached by former Kenyan international Fred Serenge will now face off against Brenda Girls from Bungoma, who secured their slot in the finals after hammering Chakol Mixed 4-1. Brenda Girls bounced back from going a goal down at the break to score four times in the second half courtesy of a brace by Esther Mukhwana and goals by Lavenda Nasambu and Joina Namukuru.
“We started off badly in the first half, but we managed to bounce back in the second half. I am happy about the victory as we now shift our focus to the finals scheduled for Sunday. We thank Safaricom for such a well-organized tournament as it has truly helped us to witness amazing talents here at the grassroots,” said Dickson Simiyu, Coach, Brenda Girls.
The Saturday matches were preceded by players and coaches clinics at Bukhungu which involved training on various aspects of the football tournament, including the use of GPS wearable vests, which Safaricom has introduced to aid in the scouting of players by collecting data and building the players’ footballing profiles.
The winners of 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 in Nairobi. The runners-up teams will take home KES. 150,000 each. The Most Valuable Player (MVP), Best Goalkeeper and Top Scorer (boys and girls) will each receive KES. 30,000.
This year, Western Kenya registered a total of 441 teams participating in the tournament with Kakamega leading at 162, followed by Bungoma (152), Busia (64), and Vihiga (63).
Safaricom Chapa Dimba which targets young people aged between 16 and 20 years old 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.
