Kwale United from the Coast region made history on Sunday 16 February 2025 as they were crowned the inaugural Tujiamini Cheza Dimba National champions after overcoming Eldoret FC 1-0 in the Tujiamini Festival grand finale staged at the Dandora Stadium in Nairobi.
Having snaked their way to the final following Saturday wins over Megastars and Kisumu City Stars in the quarterfinal and semifinal respectively, Kwale got the job done against Eldoret courtesy of a sublime first-half freekick from team captain Austine Mbogo.
That was the deciding goal in the game as they resolutely thwarted a resurgent Eldoret in the second half to emerge as the overall winner of the Tujiamini Cheza Dimba tournament 2024.
“We feel really good to emerge as the Tujiamini Cheza Dimba national champions. There is no better feeling than working hard for something then getting the results. We just want to thank SportPesa for the Tujiamini initiative which offers great support to talented individuals at the grassroot level,” Austine remarked.
“May God bless SportPesa because they have empowered us and have given us a major platform to showcase our talent which we were struggling with,” Kwale United head coach Hamisi Masusa remarked after his team’s victory.
The tournament, powered by leading online gaming firm SportPesa, brought together 9 men’s teams from across the country that had excelled in the different regions that Tujiamini toured for the whole of 2024.
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In the men’s category, participants included Galacticos (Central), Ikuu Spiders (Eastern & North Eastern Region), Eldoret (North Rift Region), Mathare North United (Nairobi Region), Kisumu City Stars (Nyanza Region), Cheptalal (South Rift Region), Kwale United (Coast Region), Mega Stars (Nairobi Region) and Rockstars (Western Region).
In the women’s category, Uhola Queens from the Nyanza Region managed to stay composed to the very end as they beat Green Blades SPASS 3-2 on post-match penalties following a 1-1 draw in regular time.
In the exhibition match, SportPesa FC ensured the bragging rights remained with SportPesa as they emerged winners on superior goal difference in a 3-team tourney that had Dandora Legends and Sports Journalists of Kenya (SJAK) FC.
SportPesa drew 0-0 with Dandora Legends in their first game before thrashing SJAK 5-1 to emerge as winners. Dandora Legends and SJAK played to a 2-2 draw in the other clash.
The Tujiamini Festival also officially marked the launch of the second year of the Tujiamini initiative which will see SportPesa pump upto 70 million in funding to support talent across the country.
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Tujiamini Cheza Dimba National Results
Megastars 0-1 Kwale United – Quarterfinal
Kisumu City Stars 1-2 Kwale United – Semifinal
Eldoret FC 0-1 Kwale United – Final