Thousands of football lovers from Matungu sub~county turned out in large numbers to witness the much hyped Robert Ojou Challenge Cup that was staged at Lung’anyiro Primary School grounds.
Fast-rising Mirere FC won the first edition of Robert Ojou Challenge Cup after overcoming hosts Lung’anyiro FC 4-2 on penalty shootouts during the entertaining finals staged on Boxing Day.
The hotly contested match had ended 1-1 in the regulation time after Patrick Aketi scored for the home team on 34th minute before Robert Maroko levelled for Mirere during the second half.
Tournament sponsor Robert Ojou thanked all the teams that took part in the inaugural competition for showing relentless commitment and displaying high level of football which will go a long way in building them into better sportsmen.
The Advocate of the High Court further noted that plans are underway to stage a friendly match between Namamali Combined FC and Nakuru Allstars in a bid to enhance information exchange amongst players besides providing an opportunity to help those involved nurture their talent.
“I’m happy that this was a success and I want to assure all of you that next year we’ll make it bigger and better as we’ll have more teams participating as well as increasing the prize money. Arrangements are already in place to have our boys marketing themselves to the outside of Kakamega County through playing friendly tie with a team in Nakuru. We hope that the scouts present during the fixture will get impressed by the talent exhibited here,” remarked Ojou.
The Kenya Premier League side AFC Leopards team manager Albert Wesonga who was the Chief guest urged players to maintain high discipline and keep the focus in realisation of their sporting dreams and aspirations.
“I want to reiterate my commitment of working together with most of you because you got what it takes to play competetive football. Already I have picked a few boys who will undergo trials at AFC Leopards youth team and I hope you maximise on this rare chance,” he said.
“I also call upon you to behave well and train hard all the times incase you have an ambition of playing at the big stage because talent without discipline is nothing. Look at our former Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama;age is catching up with him but high profile clubs in Europe are still in pursuit of his services as this boils down to his humility and simplicity. The other day Sports CS Ababu Namwamba convinced him to reverse his retirement decision that tells how good he’s. Let’s all emulate on him” added Wesonga nicknamed alias Sero due to his playing style back in the day.
The tournament which attracted a total of eight teams saw top four sides awarded cash prizes accompanied by other football equipment like match balls, nets among others.
