Nation Media are the 2023 Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) Sports Day inter media five- aside football tournament champions after edging out Supersport 3-2 in the final at the Arena One turf at Galleria on Saturday.CGTN finished third after beating Standard Group in the third-place playoff.In the semis, Nation saw off Standard Group 5-0 while Supersport eliminated CGTN in the other semifinal courtesy of a 3-1 win.Mozzart Sport, who were making their debut appearance in the event, were sadly eliminated in the quarters after falling 4-3 to Standard Group despite leading in the tie in three different instances only for Standard to steal the win when it mattered.The debutants had finished top of Group D after beating BBC 4-2 in the first match before being awarded a walkover after Coast media failed to turn up, and finally wrapping up their group action with a two-all draw over Kass FM.##NAJAVA_MECA_7347548##Speaking after the outing, Team Manager Kevin Teya, who also doubled up as the team’s coach, captain, team coordinator, and photographer, among other things expressed his delight at the performance of his charges and promised to return for the trophy in the upcoming edition.”Considering it was our first competition as Mozzart Sport, I am impressed with how my team turned up. Not only on the field but also on the stands to bring the fun to the event. That was such a strong display and a blend of fun. Congratulations to the winners but they should watch out for us. We are coming back for the trophy,” the journalist said, this time being the one on the other end of the microphone.The event coincided with the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) Day and brought together sports journalists from various media houses and freelancers in equal measures from across the country.We had fun today. We lost to the Standard Group in the quarters but that didn’t prevent us from enjoying the rest of the tournament. Our support was immediately shifted to opponents of the Standard group or rather Yasmine and by extension the Nation Media Group the eventual… pic.twitter.com/uJIHOBqOrs— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) July 1, 2023 Nation’s Yasmin Khalid was undoubtedly the fans favorite, impressing with her high technical ability and sensational runs and movement on top of the goals she scored.The winners pocketed Ksh50,000 as prize money, while the first and second runners-up went home with Ksh 30,000 and Ksh 20,000 respectively.The event was sponsored by the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) which funded the prize money, SuperSport gave merchandise for the top teams and Bounty Limited manufacturers of Safari Energy Drink and Safari Water were the beverage sponsors.Spanish top-flight league La Liga also came on board as SJAK’s partner.Laliga delegate Alvaro Abreu said he looks forward to a better working relationship with the Association.“This is more than we expected and really I’m happy that the event was successful. We hope to make it bigger and better. We thought it was just one of the many events we have hosted but it turned out to be competitive which was a good thing,” offered Alvaro.Homeboyz millions richer after Mozzart Bet Cup triumphHead of Business Strategy Bounty Limited Christopher Kandie said their entrance in the event was timely.“We are a homegrown product and we are excited and happy to be a part of this event which is also homegrown. We hope to make it bigger and better in the coming events and make it part of long-term growth plan,” said Kandie.SJAK president James Waindi expressed his satisfaction and excitement with the tournament saying it was a success.“The tournament afforded journalists an opportunity to bond, network and release their pressures of work,” he said.
