Kibera’s Mashimoni All Stars are the inaugural 82 Ultimate Cup tournament champions following their triumph over Dandora Youth at the Police Sacco Stadium on post-match penalties.
The champions took home one million Kenya shillings with the first runners-up getting a consolation prize of Kes 500,000 and the second runners-up Kes 300,000 while the other participating teams received Kes 100,000 each.
Mashimoni and Dandora had played to a one-all draw in regular time, pushing the match to extra time where Mashimoni secured a 4-3 win over the Dandora representatives.
The final was a culmination of the three-day football extravaganza that had kicked off on Thursday 30th November 2023 and brought together eight teams from eight different regions in Nairobi to battle not only for the one million Kenya shillings at stake but also the City’s bragging rights.
Mashimoni took the lead against Dandora early in the first half through Jahson Wakachala but Karsam Njaga’s second-half goal from a corner kick gave Dandora the lifeline as the match went into penalties to decide the winner.
From the spot, Mashimoni saw two of their six penalties saved while Dandora had one save, one blasted over the bar, and the other rattled on the bar.
An elated coach Joash Olwaga of Mashimoni noted that they will use some of the money won in the tournament to give the players something to do:
“We are thankful that we emerged as the winners. It was a good game with some pressure though we knew it would be a tough match. We shall use some of the money from the one million to empower our boys in the team to ensure they have something to keep them busy.
There is a need to have a pool of players across different age groups and ensure a smooth transition into the senior team. Tournaments such as these will help unearth such talents.”
Earlier on Saturday, Dagoretti’s FIFA Best finished third after edging out Strathmore FC in the third-place playoff by a solitary goal.
At the individual awards, Mashimoni’s custodian Victor Omondi took the best goalkeeper accolade with Dandora’s duo of Steve Musyoka and William Odhiambo emerging as the top scorer and best player respectively.
Dandora Youth represented Dandora while Strathmore University and Mashimoni All Stars did so for Lang’ata and Kibera, respectively. UEFA Despanol flew Umoja’s flag with HOTH FC and Terror Squad standing for Starehe and Kasarani regions. Kibagare Slums and FIFA Best completed the list representing Westlands and Dagoretti respectively.
Since its conception and throughout the preliminary stages, the tournament has advocated for environmental conservation through the rallying call “Play for Green Spaces” by growing trees within the environs it has been played.
By the end of the first edition on Saturday, over 2,000 trees had been planted with a focus on pushing the number further by continuing the initiative even after the tournament.
