When it comes to football, the prestige of playing on the world’s most important sporting event - the World Cup - with high profile players is the end game for any upcoming footballer.
Many aspire to be the next big thing in the sport, win World Cups for their countries and stake their claim alongside the GOATs like Pele, Ronaldo, Maradona, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, George Weah, Didier Drogba, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among others.
On the world stage, the player carries the expectations of the entire country on his/her shoulders and the magic of emerging the victors is a fete winning fans will brag about for generations.
Sports build good habits, confidence, and discipline. They make players into community leaders and teach them how to strive for a goal, handle mistakes, and cherish growth opportunities.
Values, when espoused by young people, set up a foundation that will catapult them to greater things and boundless realms.
In Kenya, Chapa Dimba na Safaricom, a national tournament for male and female youth aged between 16-20 years, has taken up the task to transform the lives of young people by giving them a platform to showcase their talent and an opportunity to earn from their passion.
Gearing up for its second season, Safaricom has partnered with Spanish Football league La Liga to give young footballers an opportunity to get exposure and train in world class facilities.
Running within the tournament is a scouting program that will see certified La Liga Coaches travel to Kenya at each regional final to search for talented players, both boys and girls, who will make up an all-star team.
The selected all-star team shall attend a 10-day training camp in Spain and will also play a few friendly games against the world’s best Spanish La Liga academies.
The journey to the finals began in November, 2018 at the grassroots with teams in Western and Nyanza regions battling it out in action-packed matches.
All the hard work and perseverance will culminate in the Nyanza Regional finals that will be going down this Saturday February 9, 2019 and Sunday February 10, 2019 at Moi Stadium in Kisumu.
The girls’ category promises thrilling matches with NCEOD (Homabay), Kisii SA Ladies (Kisii), Manyatta (Kisumu) and Migori Education Centre (Migori) fighting for a chance in the regional finals. For the boys, Nyamaharaga (Kuria), Manyatta (Kisumu), Victoria Strikers (Kisii) and Springs Nyamira (Nyamira) will square it out to determine who will reign supreme.
The prizes are nothing to scoff at considering the regional winning teams, both boys and girls, will walk away with amazing cash prizes. Regional Team Winners will win Ksh 200,000 and 1st Runners Up Ksh 100,000. Additional prizes will be Ksh 30,000 each for the Top Scorer, Best Player and Best Keeper.
Come cheer your favourite teams as you enjoy the best of Kenyan football. You can also keep up to date on the games by dialing *455#.
#TwendeLaLiga na Chapa Dimba na Safaricom.
