Kenya’s leading telecommunication company Safaricom has had a long and fruitful relationship with football which is arguably Kenya’s most loved sport.
In 2010 Safaricom kicked off Sakata Ball – a national football tournament – as it sought to deepen its connection with its growing youth segment. The competition was open to players between 17 – 23 years, and it ran for two editions (2010/2011).
In 2017, after a six-year hiatus, Safaricom returned to football talent discovery in the country with the launch of the Chapa Dimba na Safaricom tournament.
Chapa Dimba na Safaricom ran for two full seasons – 2018 and 2019 – but the third season was halted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2018 national finals were played at Bukhungu Stadium, Kakamega, with the champions being Kapenguria Heroes of Rift Valley (boys) and Plateau Queens – Nyanza (girls). The winning teams bagged KES 1 million in prize money each and a trip to London to train with Victor Wanyama.
The 2019 national finals were played at Kinoru stadium, Meru, with Manyatta United – Nyanza (boys) and Kitale Queens – Rift Valley (girls) emerging as champions. The winning teams each walked away with KES 1 million shillings in prize money, and the All-Star team trained in Spain for 10 days.
This time around, Safaricom has invested more than KES400 million in the tournament and will provide a structured platform for scouts and coaches to tap into new talent and build feeder systems for Kenyan leagues and train 250 coaches.
From the tournament, 32 young players will visit Spain for a 10-day training boot camp while the Safaricom and M-PESA Foundations will offer TVET educational scholarships to 150 players for the best boy and best girl in every county and the winning girls’ and boys’ teams at the national finals.
Chapa Dimba is Swahili for play or hit the ball, and this tournament has definitely hit the spot.
This documentary showcases the impact of the tournament through the voices of its most notable players and also those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make it happen.
