The battle for the national supremacy, bragging rights and a chance to win KSh1 million kicks off this Thursday, 11 April at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium (Mamboleo) and Moi S`tadium in Kisumu County, with eight boys’ and eight girls’ teams facing off in the quarter finals.
Kicking off the action at Mamboleo Stadium will be the Western region champions Brenda Girls taking on Syomunyu Secondary from Eastern region in the girls’ category.
Next up at the Mamboleo stadium will be home team and Nyanza region champions Obunga FC from Nyanza facing Lysa FC from Central region. Obunga FC will be without their lethal striker, 17-year-old Duncan Omala, who is currently at the ABM Football Academy in Mali.
The third quarterfinal at Mamboleo Stadium, will see Changamwe Ladies from the Coast battle it out with the Nyanza’s three-time and season one Chapa Dimba national champions, Plateau Queens alias Nyakach Girls.
Rounding off the action at the Mamboleo stadium will be the matchup between Rift Valley champions PASC Langa FC and Dandora’s Young Kings from Nairobi.
The first match up at the Moi Stadium, will witness Bandari Youth from the Coast duel against Wajir All Stars from the North Eastern region.
The day’s second match at Moi Stadium will be the much-anticipated clash pitting Nairobi region champions Dagoretti Mixed Girls against Rift Valley champions Wiyeta Girls.
Next to take to the astroturf at Moi Stadium will be Western regional champions Ebwali FC, led by coach Francis Muhambe, in a clash with Eastern region’s Chuka University Scorpions.
The final game at Moi Stadium will be between three-time Central region champions Barcelona Ladies SC and North Eastern’s Wajir Queens.
“First, I want to thank Safaricom for organizing such a great tournament, providing our young players with the opportunity to showcase their talent to the world. We are proud to represent the Western region in the boys’ category, and as regional champions, we are prepared and eager for the national finals. All my players are in good form apart from our goal keeper who sustained a slight injury during one of the friendly matches. I urge our fans to come out in large numbers to support us and we promise to make them proud as we go for the national trophy,” said Francis Muhambe, Head coach Ebwali Boys.
After the quarterfinals played in two venues, action will move to the Mamboleo Stadium for semifinals to be played on Friday and Saturday. Finals will then follow on Sunday, still at the Mamboleo Stadium.
The winning teams in the national finals will walk away with KSh1 million in cash, with the runners-up and second runners-up taking home KSh500,000 and KSh250,000, respectively (both boys’ and girls’ team).
In addition to the prize money, players in the winning teams, runners-up and second runners-up, will also get Neon Smartphones, the first locally assembled 4G smartphone in Kenya.
The outstanding players, including the Best Goalkeeper, Top Scorer, and Most Valuable Player (boys and girls), will each receive KSh50,000.
In addition, this year’s tournament has also offered 150 TVET scholarships to Most Valuable Players (MVPs), empowering them with education and skills for life beyond football.
The national finals follow a successful grassroot games (ward level, county finals, intercounty play-off, and regional finals) conducted across the eight regions of the country: Western, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Eastern, Coast, North Eastern, Nairobi, and Central regions, where 3,353 teams and over 60,300 players were featured in the tournament.
