- Lyons made it to the final of the regional finals after beating Masalani FC 2-0 courtesy of a brace from Yusuf Hussain.
- The previous Regional tournament was held in Coast with the next one scheduled for the Central region and Nairobi region before the penultimate final to be played in Kisumu.
Image: TEDDY MULEI
Lyons O4 FC assistant Coach Mohamed Abdikadir has called on fans to turn up in large numbers to support them as they seek to claim the title of the North Eastern region at the Safaricom Chapa Dimba tournament.
Lyons made it to the final of the regional finals after beating Masalani FC 2-0 courtesy of a brace from Yusuf Hussain.
They will take on the victor of the match between Wajir All Stars and Marina FC(Mandera County), who are under the stewardship of Coach Adan Mohamed, in a match slated for today at 5 pm at Garissa University.
"I want to promise our fans that we are going to make them happy and request them to come out in large numbers and support us," said Abdikadir.
The North Eastern region counties are made up of Wajir county, Garissa County and Mandera County.
He further went on to add that the team's dedication and perseverance saw them reach the final stages of the much-coveted tournament.
"It has taken us a lot of dedication and commitment to reach the finals, and we believe we have all it takes to claim the regional title and get an opportunity to represent Garissa and North Eastern at large in the national finals," he added
286 teams took part in the North Eastern region. 60 from Garissa County, 115 from Mandera County and 111 from Wajir County.
This is the Fourth edition of the Chapa Dimba tournament which is gaining much popularity at the grassroot level.
The previous Regional tournament was held in Coast with the next one scheduled for the Central region and Nairobi region before the penultimate final to be played in Kisumu.
The Coastal Region finals held on January 14 saw Bandari Youth and Changamwe ladies emerge as overall winners.
Regional champions stand to win Sh250,000 and a ticket to represent the region in the national finals slated for April.
The runners-up will bag Sh150,000 while there will also be individual awards for the best players.
The tournament targets young people aged between 16 and 20 years old.
The best goalkeeper, Top Scorer, and Most Valuable Player (both boys and girls), each receiving Sh30,000.
Safaricom started with a free medical camp on February 17 before the start of the finals at the Garissa Level 5 Hospital.
The camp provided over 3300 people from Garissa and the surrounding community with free medical check-ups, consultations, eye and dental check-ups, blood sugar tests, blood pressure checks, and cancer screenings.
Before the Saturday match, player and coach clinics will be held in the morning, focusing on various aspects of the tournament. Safaricom has introduced GPS Sports Vests to aid player scouting and profile building with globally recognized metrics.
Safaricom territory lead, North Eastern region Abdulfalah Sheikh noted on the importance of Safaricom in supporting the grassroot level in the Chapa Dimba tourney.
"Safaricom is really transforming lives through sports from the grassroot level," he said.