The third edition of the Chapa Dimba Na Safaricom grassroots tournament kicks off with 40 preliminary matches set to be played in Mombasa this weekend.
Twenty nine boys and 11 girls matches will be played in different locations in Mombasa with the ultimate goal to eventually get into the regional final stage where four boys and four girls teams will battle for the two slots available to represent the region in the national final set to be played next year in June.
Shimanzi Youth, who are the Mombasa Region boys defending champions, have rebranded to Kick Stars and will kick off their title defence with a game against Mombasa Kings on Saturday morning at the Ronald Ngala ground in Mvita while girls defending champions Changamwe Ladies will take Changamwe Queens on Sunday morning at the Magongo Primary School ground.
Safaricom has for the second time partnered with La Liga to ensure select boys and girls who impress during the tournament earn a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to Spain and play against youth teams. Tournament director Chris Amimo believes this will make the third edition more competitive.
“We expect this season to be more competitive especially on the backdrop of the Spanish tour we had last season with 16 boys and 16 girls going to Spain to play with teams from that region. Other players are now eager to grab that chance this time and we are looking forward to exciting matches in all the regions,” Amimo told Nation Sport.
From Mombasa, the tournament will head to North Eastern and Eastern regions for the preliminaries. The regional tourneys will culminate with the national finals at the Bomu Stadium in Mombasa in June next year.
Manyatta Boys from Nyanza and Kitale Queens from Rift Valley won the second edition of the tournament.
