Nairobi News

Mitunguu United and Kibirichia Starlets are the champions of the Meru Football Challenge, after winning the Men’s and Women’s finals, respectively.

In the men’s category, Mitunguu United needed extra time to beat Black Panther FC 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time. For their exploits, United walked away with Sh1m while runners-up Black Panther FC settled for half a million shillings. In the ladies’ final, Kibirichia Starlets overcame Skyler FC 2-1 in regulation time to clinch the trophy and a Sh1m cash prize.

The Meru Football Challenge, sponsored by gaming company Betika’s corporate social responsibility arm, Betika na Community, was held in Meru County from 10th – 31st March, attracting participation of 48 teams from the region. The finals were held on Sunday, 31st March at Kinoru Stadium, and event attended by over 40,000 fans.

Tournament Promoter and Director, former Gor Mahia Defender Bramwel Karamoja waxed lyrical about the abundance of talent in Meru, thanking the fans for supporting the game:

“The people of Meru love football. The capacity crowd and overall support that we have seen for the tournament from the County Government and local FKF leadership from the beginning of the tournament, as we organised the teams, through to the semi-finals and finals is enough evidence. I would like to thank each of the fans individually for coming out to support the tournament, and Betika for believing in Kenyan football.”

The Meru Football Challenge is set to be an annual event, with a view to making football a viable source of livelihood for talented players in Meru and across the region.

Betika Marketing Manager, Eric Mwiti, congratulated the winners and spoke to the company’s wider football agenda, saying: “We are proud to be associated with the rise of football in Meru County. The Meru Football Challenge is just the beginning. We are also especially proud to be blazing the trail in promoting gender equality by awarding equal prize money to both genders, which we hope will stimulate more development in the ladies’ game here in Meru and across the country. We are looking forward to seeing the upward trajectory of football in this part of Kenya, and a team representing this region rising to the FKF Premier League.”

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