Kisumu City Stars are the latest entrants in the fast-approaching Tujiamini Cheza Dimba Nationwide contest after winning the Nyanza region competition.
Despite a slow start to the competition held at the Moi Stadium in Kisumu, the stars found their footing in the first semi final with a 3-0 win over Sparks FC. They went ahead to emerge victorious in a closely contested final against rivals Kisumu Greenlands who had settled for a goalless draw against Mawego FC in the second semi final of the day.
Njera Odoyo scored the only goal of the match in the first half to bag a crucial three points that further stamped Kisumu City Stars’ authority with a 7-point lead. Speaking after the match, team captain Tonnington Atinga lauded his players for a good showing.
“It feels great to win the tournament and I am proud of the players for sealing the win. The quality of play was good and we felt challenged by the competitiveness brought by other teams.”
In addition to securing a spot in the upcoming Tujiamini Cheza Dimba nationwide tournament, Kisumu City Stars that is eyeing a spot in the national super league in the next three years won themselves a much needed sponsorship worth kes 250,0000 annually for three years including home and away kits.
“The club depends entirely on well-wishers. This sponsorship is a welcome addition to our resource base which will go a long way in motivating and helping the team to meet fixture obligations including the welfare of the players,” added Kisumu City Stars CEO, Dominic Mala.
He lauded the organisation of the tournament and Tujiamini Initiative’s focus on elevating, discovering and growing sports and sporting related talent in the grassroots.
Mercy Kabui who represented SportPesa at the event highlighted the need for more participation by women clubs noting that the exhibition matches that featured four teams was an improvement from previous Cheza Dimba tournaments.
“We have faced challenges with low female participation in previous Cheza Dimba tournaments. We intend to grow the level of female participation in the coming months and encourage entries from all interested women clubs in South Rift, which is the next region of focus for Tujiamini Initiative,” she said.
Uhola Queens walked away with Kes 50,000 together with playing kits after a 1-0 win against Warembo All Stars in the final, courtesy of Vanessa Atieno who scored the only goal of the match.
The Tujiamini initiative heads to the South Rift region where applications are ongoing and will close at the end of the month.