The Mountain Journal/ Wangechi Mugambi i
Kirinyaga Stars FC outclassed their regional opponents to emerge victorious in the Tujiamini Cheza Dimba tournament which marked the culmination of the Tujiamini activities in the Central region.
The tournament that took place at the ACK Good Samaritan School in Mutithi Ward, Kirinyaga County, Saturday, brought together six teams in a hard-fought battle for the top spot, with one winner expected to represent the region in the nationwide tournament at the end of the year.
Photo: Members of the Kirinyaga County Assembly join Kirinyaga Stars players in celebration after they emerged winners of the Tujiamini Cheza Dimba Tournament held at the ACK Good Samaritan School grounds in Mutithi Kirinyaga on Saturday April 13, 2024. L-R Tujiamini In the white hat is Kepha Kariuki Chief officer sport’s, in the red Jacket is Mutithi ward Representative Jinaro Jamumo also the Deputy Speaker, County Assembly of Kirinyaga, on the right is Hon. James wambu, MCA Kangai Ward.
Based in Kirinyaga county, the club won 1-0 against Galaticos in the finals to walk away with the prize of a three-year sponsorship deal by Sport Pesa worth sh 250,000 annually. The team will also receive both home and away kits as well as other benefits such as professional mentorship for the players.
“Kirinyaga Stars emerged the winning team in the Central region,they received Sh 250,000 and will also get mentorship sponsored by Sportspesa for three years Said Ojwang.
In the group stages, Kirinyaga Stars FC beat Karia FC and Galaticos FC to top Pool B, before proceeding to the semi finals where they thrashed pool A finalists Midway FC 5-0. As fate would have it, th themselves in their two consecutive matches after suffering a loss during the group stages.
In the semifinal against Murang’a County’s Midway FC, Kirinyaga Stars showed great resilience and stamina to dominate the entirety of the game. Buoyed by an excited and charged home crowd, the Stars rallied to score the five goals, including one penalty in the second half.
According to the Kirinyaga Stars Team Manager, Julius Mutiso, the sh 250,000 award will go towards player welfare in particular; supporting logistics in meeting their league fixtures. Mutiso added that, as one of the leading teams in the FKF county league, they are encouraged and ever more focused to expose the young and budding talent to such tournaments.
Photo: Kirinyaga Stars’ Goalkeeper Jeremy Karanja in action during the Tujiamini Cheza Dimba Tournament held at the ACK Good Samaritan School grounds in Mutithi Kirinyaga on Saturday April 13, 2024. The NIBS College lost 1-0 to the home side.
Willis Ojwang, the Communication and Advertising Manager, SportPesa, noted the high number of submissions received from the Central region of over 100 teams, leading to the line up of the top 6 entrants. The Cheza Dimba Central region football tournament featured four teams from the larger Kiambu County with the rest coming from Murang’a and Kirinyaga County
“Even if there is only one winner at the end of the regional activities, no one is walking away empty handed. participating teams have received supportive resources such as playing kits and are free to reapply for a chance to feature in the other ongoing Tujiamini activities until December 2024.”
Tujiamini Cheza Dimba tournament that aims to give a platform for both individual and community grassroots sports and related talents continues to play a huge role in boosting players’ morale in their search for recognition and support in taking their talents to the next level.
“For an amateur team, we did not know that we would be facing highly skilled players. Our Cheza Dimba outing today was quite competitive but it was worth it because of the exposure which will help in improving our game even as we set our targets towards on the higher FKF leagues,” said Joel Mallow, Team Captain of Kiambu-based Lions FC.
Photo: Kirinyaga Stars player Glen Githinji in action during the Tujiamini Cheza Dimba Tournament held at the ACK Good Samaritan School grounds in Mutithi Kirinyaga we where the Stars won 1-0 to take home the three year sponsorship and Kit deal by SportPesa pesa worth Kes 250,000 annually.
As part of the central region culmination activities, the event in Kirinyaga saw the announcement of four winners in the Silver categories: Leon Oduor with his entry on rugby coaching and music producer Franklin Ireri as well as Patrick Mugu, a Kenyan Cyclist who ranked 9th overall in the National 2023 Cycling Series and Kennedy Stephen, a weightlifter ranked Kenya’s 7th strongest man, all walk away with kes 100,000 cash prize.
Another 80 Bronze winners in the county will get various support in the form of sports kits, fees, gym memberships, access to physiotherapy, nutritionists among other services.
The tournament now moves to the Eastern region covering 11 counties where another community club will have the chance to fight for a three-year sponsorship that will help clubs realize their goals while addressing key resources gaps such as player welfare, kitting, travel and accommodation among other needs that tend to hinder the progress of both players and clubs.
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