Sakata Ball, the Safaricom grass root football has rebranded to Chapa Dimba that will be played across the country starting in August to March 2018.
Under new management, Tottenham Hotspurs’ Victor Wanyama was appointed the ambassador of the Chapa Dimba which received kshs 100 million sponsorship from the sole sponsor Safaricom with winners of both genders pocketing a million shillings.
The East Africa largest company communication returns after five years since the last game was played in 2012.
The annual football tournament which will be managed by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) where winners of the first edition of the tournament will have an opportunity to visit Harambee Stars Captain in London.
This is the third time that the football tournament is changing the name since it was inaugurated in 2009.
In the first two editions between 2010 and 2011, it was known as the ‘The Soccer Challenge’ then changed to “Sakata Ball” and now “Chapa Dimba.”
Registration for the competition which targets boys and girls aged 16 – 20 years opens on Monday.
The registration will be done through Safaricom Website or pick the registration forms from any Safaricom Shop or Local FKF Branch Office.
The tournament will be open to participation from both Boys and Girls
Teams and will kick off with a national registration in the following
regions: Nairobi, Eastern, Western, Nyanza, Rift, Coast, Central and North Eastern.
Each Team will comprise of 15 players and 2 officials for the group
stages. Registration opens from 1st of July and will close on 30th
July 2017.
Verification and Group Fixtures will take place in August and
participating teams will receive official communication by 25th August
2017.
The Boys Tournament will be played in 5 Stages – Group Stage 1, Group
Stage 2, Round of 16 (Knockout Basis), Regional Finals and National
Finals.
The Girls Tournament will be played in 5 Stages – Group Stage 1, Group
Stage 2, Quarter Finals (Knockout Basis), Regional Finals (each
regional winner will proceed to National Tournament) and National
Finals.
CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE TOURNAMENT
ROUP STAGES
2nd – 10th September: Group Phase 1 – 3 Rounds (64 Winners identified from 64 Groups)
16th- 24th September Group Phase 2 – 3 Rounds (16 Winners identified from 16 Groups)
30th- 8th October Knockout Phase 3 – 2 Legs (8 Aggregate Winners Identified)
REGIONAL FINALS
11th /12th November Regional Final 1
25th / 26th November Regional Final 2
2nd / 3rd December Regional Final 3
13th / 14th January Regional Final 4
27th/ 28th January Regional Final 5
10th / 11th February Regional Final 6
24th / 25th February Regional Final 7
10th / 11th March Regional Final 8
FINALS
24th / 25th March Grande Final