Coaches to benefit from clinics as third edition of Chapa Dimba is launched

The third edition of the Chapa Dimba Na Safaricom football tournament will see selected tacticians get coaching clinics courtesy of a joint venture between the Spanish top flight league La Liga and Football Kenya Federation.

Announcing the plans on Tuesday, Safaricom Chief Customer Officer Sylvia Mulinge said they will be aiming to register more than 3000 teams across the country.

“We are going to ensure that the success we witnessed in the season is realized and aside from identifying the 32 all-stars who will travel to Spain, we would have a coaching clinic so as to give the coaches an opportunity to get good level of training,” Mulinge said  at Ligi Ndogo during the launch of the event, now in its third edition.

The 32-all-star-team will get an opportunity to tour and train at the Santiago Bernabeu, home of Spanish giants Real Madrid.

FKF President Nick Mwendwa who also graced the launch hailed the partnership for its continued support in the growth of grassroots football stating that going ahead they will be aiming to turn the tournament into a football league with clear structures.

“They are the best for us in executing what they are doing and as we have seen it’s not easy to find someone to partner with you for three years,” he said.

“In future, we will have a structure so that we get to know when the event will start, where it will be played and for how long,it will be a sort of a league for our young talented players,” said Mwendwa.

The second edition of the tourney was won by Nyanza’s Manyatta United and Kitale Queens from Rift Valley.

Furthermore, the second edition saw Kenya Premier League side Western Stima sign Manyatta United midfielder Ibrahim Ochieng Owino who was among the 30 players who were in the Chapa Dimba All-Stars squad that visited Spain.  Sylvia Livondo of Kitale Queens earned a shot in the Harambee Starlets under- 20 squad.

Registration of the teams aiming to participate in this year’s edition will run until September 6. The national finals will be held in Mombasa.