The highly anticipated fourth edition of Safaricom Chapa Dimba is set to officially kick off today, Saturday, 8th July, in the Western region.
The tournament, which returns after a three-year break, has drawn 441 teams from the Western region (Kakamega, Busia, Vihiga and Bungoma), an increase from the previous session, which attracted 180 teams from the Western region. Among these four counties, Kakamega has registered the highest number of teams, with 162, followed by Bungoma (152), Busia (64), and Vihiga (63), respectively.
“We are delighted by the high number of registration of teams for this year’s tournament.
The Western region has set a good pace, with over 400 teams registered to compete in this year’s Safaricom Chapa Dimba tournament. This number has almost tripled from the last edition, which proves that this year’s tournament will be bigger and better and we look forward to nurturing more young talents in the country,” said Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom CEO.
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Some of the key teams from the Western region who will be participating in this year’s Safaricom Chapa Dimba include the defending champions Blue Saints and Bishop Njenga Girls, and the 2018 runners-up in the Girls category, Ibinzo Girls, all from Kakamega County.
The grassroots games will be played from the ward level, where different teams will compete against each other. The winners from each ward will then progress to the sub-county level, where they will face off to determine the sub-county champion. Once the sub-county champions are crowned, they will move on to the county level, where the battle for the county title will occur. At this stage, each county will produce its best boys’ and girls’ teams to represent them in the regional tournament for the highly coveted regional title. The tournament’s climax will unfold at Bukhungu Stadium, providing a platform for exceptional talents to shine and strive for glory before culminating in the national finals. There will be an award at every stage of the competition. From ward winners to national champions.
Safaricom has committed over KES 400 million to support the event from Mashinani all the way to the national level. This year, the total prize money for the tournament has doubled to KES 20 million to reward the winning boys’ and girls’ teams from the grassroots, county, regional and national finals. 150 Education Scholarships to TVET colleges will also go to top talent – Best Boy and Girl players from every county and the winning Girls and Boys Team at the National Final courtesy of the Safaricom and M-PESA Foundations.
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The best football players, 2 boys and 2 girls, will be scouted during each regional finals to form an All-Star team. They will be able to visit Spain for a 10-day training boot camp with two players (a boy and a girl) getting international placement in a youth team in Spain.
There is also additional prize money at the national finals level, which will see the most disciplined team take home KES 100,000, while the Best Girl player, Girls Top Scorer and Girls Best Keeper will take home KES 50,000 each.
The Safaricom Chapa Dimba aims to provide a structured platform for scouts and coaches to tap into new talent, build feeder systems for the Kenyan football leagues nationwide, and train 250 coaches. The football tournament targets young people aged between 16 and 20 years old.
Registration is currently ongoing across different regions in the country. The group stages will be played at the grassroots level, with successful teams qualifying for the regional finals across the eight regions. For more information on how to register and/or get match fixtures, visit: https://chapadimba.safaricom.co.ke/matches/