The telecommunications company has debuted the fifth season of its premier youth football championship, Chapa Dimba, featuring enhanced international opportunities, educational funding, and artificial intelligence-based assessment tools designed to revolutionize community-level football development across the nation.
The corporation revealed that a select group of 32 standout participants from the competition will journey to Sweden to showcase Kenyan talent at the renowned Gothia Cup, recognized globally as the biggest youth football tournament in the world.
This program substitutes the overseas training camps conducted in prior seasons and aims to deliver organized international competitive experience and broader worldwide recognition for emerging Kenyan footballers.
Simultaneously, 150 exceptional athletes will receive university funding through Safaricom’s Citizens of the Future initiative as the organization works to integrate athletics, learning, and technological tools in developing young talent.
“We are deliberately creating routes that blend athletics, academics, and innovation to strengthen the coming generation,” stated Peter Ndegwa. “Our objective extends beyond producing football stars; it involves cultivating comprehensive individuals who can meaningfully improve their local areas and the nation as a whole.”
The firm has also adjusted the participant age range from 16-20 years down to 15-18 years to enable earlier talent recognition and progression into professional football frameworks both domestically and internationally.
In a significant technological advancement, the organization will expand the application of artificial intelligence in talent identification and performance evaluation. Building on the effective deployment of AI-enhanced GPS vests in the previous season, Safaricom will now implement cutting-edge scouting instruments, such as VeO Cameras and MyScout AI systems, beginning with county-level competitions.
These technological solutions will monitor athletes’ movement, speed data, field placement, and general capabilities while assisting young footballers in building digital profiles available to talent evaluators and organizations around the world.
“This season, we are integrating technology more deeply into community-level football because we feel no potential should remain undetected,” Ndegwa emphasized.
The championship will unfold across eight zones in five stages, from local ward competitions to the national championship. Victors in both male and female divisions will each be awarded Sh1 million, along with county and regional recognitions and personal player honors.