Kenya Women Premier (KWPL) side Eldoret Falcons FC were crowned the champions of the inaugural Uasin Gishu County Women Soccer Tournament that came to an end on Sunday evening at Bishop Delany Memorial secondary school in Eldoret.
Played under heavy downpour, won the tournament dubbed Mama Diof Cup after defeating Eldoret Sports Development Centre (Espodec) 2-0 in a tournament that attracted 14 women teams from the larger Uasin Gishu County.
Harambee Starlets striker Janet Moraa Bundi broke the defence in the 20th minute before youngstar Vicky Nyaluak the second and winning goal for the Falcons after converting a penalty when Stacy Nawarenga was fouled in the box.
In the first semifinal the champions defeated Eldoret Divas 6-0 to sail to the finals with ease.
Falcon’s coach Johnson Mukhwana said the victory was achieved through discipline, hard work and dedication.
“All the teams that have participated in the tournament are strong and despite the fact that we are participating in the Women Premier League, did not guarantee us smooth victory because all the teams have been taking advantage of the long break amid Covid-19 pandemic to train hard,” said Mukhwana.
He further said that his team will continue training harder as they wait for the start of the Kenya Premier League season after Covid-19.
“We are using this time to train. My side is also on a recruitment spree of new players because some of them like Moraa from Harambee Starlets is set to join Yanga Women FC in Tanzania. We have at least three players who are leaving us for greener pastures outside the country and it is time to get their replacements,” said Mukhwana.
The finalists coach Maurice Kamau said that they had taken advantage of the tournament to learn from their own mistakes and do better in their subsequent matches.
“The match with Falcons has been good. Of course this is our main challengers but I am happy that we have learnt from our mistakes and am sure that my girls will do better next time,” said Mr Kamau.
Charity Wangoma popularly known as Mama Diouf who collaborated with the Uasin Gishu Women Football Association to organize the event termed it as a big milestone to the local women football.