Kenyan youth teams shine in Chipkizi Cup regional tourney in Tanzania

Kenya’s contingent to this year’s East African Chipkizi Cup 2019 held in Arusha Tanzania has returned home with several awards to their name.

The annual youth tournament featuring playoffs for Under 16, 13, 11, 9 and 7 years was organized by Future Stars Academy and attracted more than 120 teams from 7 countries across the region and beyond.

Staged at the Tanganyika Game Trackers (TGT) Grounds in Arusha, the tournament now celebrates its 10th-anniversary saw Tanzania’s Azam FC Under 16 team pick the main under 16 title after beating Future Stars Academy 3-1 in a thrilling finals game. Azam FC had advanced to the finals after beating Kenya’s Kware FC 3-0.

The Kenyan junior teams however performed well in the Under under 13, Under 11 and Under nine playoffs which they won.

In the Under 13, Kenya’s Soka Talent Academy took the title while compatriots Angaza Academy picked the under 11 and 7 titles. Nairobi based Express Soccer Club won the main cup under 9 title while the Nairobi Valley Arcade, based Juve Soccer Academy won the Under nine plate title.

Speaking on arrival from Arusha, Juve Academy Director and Head Coach Eric Ouma said the tournament had exposed the Kenyan contingent to world-class competitive soccer action.

“The East African Chipkizi Cup tournament continues to provide an exceptional regional talent nurturing a platform for our Junior teams. The exposure in Arusha with playoffs between Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda among other countries was invaluable and served to build our teams confidence,” Ouma said.

Currently styled as the largest youth tournament, plans are underway to transform Chipkizi Cup into a fully-fledged continental competition to foster social cohesion and provide a talent scouting platform.