Chapa Dimba heads to the Coast

Bigwigs Waa Girls, St John's Kaloleni and Shimba Hills will tussle for the bragging rights and top honours as the Chapa Dimba na Safaricom grassroots football tournament heads to the Coast.

The two-day tournament will be staged at the Shanzu Teachers Training Colleague in Mombasa from Saturday.

The Safaricom Ladies side Team Pepea will also be in action.

Cheered on by among others Safaricom's Head of Corporate Responsibility Sanda Ojiambo, who doubles up as the team's patron, Team Pepea are slated to play Moving the Goal Posts (MTG) in an exhibition match on Sunday.

In the real action, Waa Girls and St John's, who both have dominated the regional school games for the better part of the last decade, will play each other in the first women semi-final.

KILIFI QUEENS IN ACTION

Malindi's Solwogidi FC will battle Kilifi Queens in the other last four contest.

On the men's front, Tana Rivers' Iqra FC will confront Malindi's Breezeham whereas Mombasa's Shimanzi Kings square it off against Kwale's Shimba Hills for a place in the final.

The winning men and women teams will not only each pocket Sh200,000, but also progress to the national finals and remain on course to winning the overall Sh1 million cash prize alongside a chance to visit England in March to train and play alongside Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama.

Already, four regional finals from the Rift Valley, Eastern, Nyanza and North Eastern have been contested. The remaining finals in Kakamega, Nyeri and Nairobi are due to be contested before Mach, to pave way for the national finals.

In total, Safaricom has invested Sh100 million in the six months long tournament which aims to unearth new talents at the grassroots. Apart from the operational costs, part of these proceeds will be channelled towards awarding the winning teams and renovations of select play grounds.