Kingstone are Koth Biro champions

Kingstone from Shauri Moyo are the new Koth Biro champions after edging Allin Jua Kali 7-6 on post-match penalties at the Umeme Grounds in Ziwani on Saturday afternoon.

The match had ended 2-2 in regulation time.

Evans Juma opened the scoring for Allin Jua Kali in the 20th minute, but Kalwish Walubukha levelled matters in the 38th minute. Chrispinus Onyango put Kingstone ahead in the 58th minute, but Walcot Walla equalized 10 minutes later. The match went straight into penalties with Kingstone triumphing.

Kingstone coach Dennis Maina lauded their opponents saying they pushed them to the limits.

“This is the first match we have been forced into penalty shoot-outs in this year’s tournament. Allin Jua Kali are debutants, but they made it very difficult for us. I appreciate them, they were a strong opponent and deserved to be in the final," he said.

Kingstone were awarded with Sh300,000 and a trophy. Maina says the money will be crucial in helping the team as they continue nurturing talents.

“Definitely a chunk of it will go directly to the players, but we will also invest in the team as we are still in the league. We are planning to fund team projects that will bring in more money to sustain the club.”

Allin Jua Kali coach Jared Owino revealed the team was only started this year and is glad they made it that far, despite being debutants.

“We are based at the garage in Buru Buru and we founded the team early this year just to keep fit and socialize as friends. We have been playing friendly matches and thought it would be wise to gauge our progress by registering in the Koth Biro Tournament.

We never thought we would get to the final so despite losing we still feel like champions – we exceeded our expectations," he said.

Jua Kali received Sh100,000 and a trophy for finishing second.