The fourth edition of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba will kick off on the weekend of 24-25 June, Chris Amimo, the Tournament Director has confirmed to Mozzart Sport.The tournament will start in Western Kenya with the preliminaries. Amimo also revealed there has been an increase in the number of registered teams. Safaricom pledge 400 million as Chapa Dimba makes comeback after two-year hiatus”In Western Region we closed the registration with 426 teams having registered. In season 3 we only had 180 teams and the increase in registrations is being witnessed in the other regions as well. The grassroots teams appreciate and love the Safaricom Chapa Dimba tournament and the impact it has had in the communities is very positive.” He said. Safaricom Chapa Dimba: Ikolomani’s Musasa FC hopes against hopeKakamega leads the registration numbers in Western Kenya with 162 teams followed by Bungoma (138), Busia (64) and Vihiga (63). Kapenguria Heroes out to reclaim Chapa Dimba Na Safaricom glorySafaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa also appreciates and emphasizes the impact the tournament has on Kenyan communities. “My dream is to make sure that in the same way that we generate lots of athletes into Europe, into very big competitions in other countries, in Boston and so on, we should be generating (footballers); we should be watching our own stars playing for Arsenal, my team in the UK or any other teams that anyone else supports. The same way we created rugby stars, the same way legendary athletes have been created. The athletes we see at the global stage come from ordinary villages,”“I lived in the UK for six years. That’s when I developed the interest in Arsenal. I lived at some point in North London. That is the reason I support Arsenal. It used to do very well, of course, it has continued to do in a different way, but this year was looking very good,” Ndegwa said. This will be the fourth edition of Chapa Dimba. The first edition was held in 2018, the second in 2019, while the third edition was paused midway in 2020 due to the eruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.
