Al Ahly edge Tumkas to win Rift Chapa Dimba boys title

Al Ahly of Kajiado county are the winners of the boys Chapa Dimba na Safaricom after edging hosts Tumkas 3-1 in post-match penalties in the finals held at the Eldoret ASK Showground.

Despite Tumkas enjoying home support from the fans that thronged the facility, both teams struggled to find the back of the net in regular time forcing the match to be decided on post match penalties after the match ended in a barren draw.

Al Ahly head coach Abdirahman Hassan was elated with the win  setting sights on the national finals to be held  in June at the Kinoru Stadium in Embu.

“We are happy to have made it to the finals, we thank God for the far we have reached because it has not been easy.  Now that we are in the finals we are also going to try to win although we know the challenge won’t be that easy,” said Hassan.

Captain Mohamed Abdirahim said their celebration will be short-lived as they are set to quickly shift their attention to the preparations for the nationals.

“As I promised yesterday after the semis we were going to do everything possible to lift the title and we are happy we have realised that.  We are now going to work towards the nationals and our main objective is to make history in the nationals,” said Abdirahim.

Alongside lifting the title, the team received sh200,000 while Tumkas settled for Sh100,000 by virtue of finishing as the runners up.

An all-star team of 32 players – two in each category from each region — will be selected to travel to Spain where they will play alongside other youth sides in the European nation.

The Chapa Dimba competition aims at scouting for youth talent, developing grassroots football, and ultimately propel gifted players to the national team.

Other boys teams that have qualified for the national finals include Lugari Blue Saints (Western), Super Solico (Eastern) and Manyatta Boys (Nyanza).

After the Rift Valley the next stop is the Coast region slated for April 6-7.