Hosts Shanderema get the party going in Kakamega
Shanderema Secondary School boys' football team players train at the school playgrounds on August 2,2 023 ahead of the Secondary Schools Term Two National Games to be held at Kakamega High School and Bukhungu Stadium.
What you need to know:
- Over 900 students from schools from Nairobi, Central, Eastern, Nyanza, Western, Rift Valley, Coast and North Eastern regions will do battle over five days in football, rugby sevens, volleyball, 3x3 basketball, netball and racquet games
- Lawn tennis will be on at Kakamega Sports Club, while fans can catch the netball, volleyball and 3x3 basketball action at Kakamega High School
- The game’s opening match will see Western region boys’ football champions Shanderema Secondary School take on Khorof-Haraf Secondary School of North Eastern in pool “A”
Kakamega comes alive Tuesday morning as Secondary Schools Term Two National Games get underway at different venues in the town.
Over 900 students from schools from Nairobi, Central, Eastern, Nyanza, Western, Rift Valley, Coast and North Eastern regions will do battle over five days in football, rugby sevens, volleyball, 3x3 basketball, netball and racquet games.
At stake will be titles and places in the Kenyan contingent to the East African Games in Huye, Rwanda slated for August 16 to 29. All participating teams were expected in Kakamega Sunday evening ahead of Tuesday’s kick-off which will commence with an opening ceremony to be presided over by Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu at Kakamega High School.
Football will be played at Kakamega High School, Bukhungu Stadium and Mukumu Boys High School. Bullring will stage rugby sevens matches, while table tennis and badminton will be at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
Lawn tennis will be on at Kakamega Sports Club, while fans can catch the netball, volleyball and 3x3 basketball action at Kakamega High School. The annual championship will see new winners crowned in boys’ football, boys’ volleyball, netball and 3x3 basketball.
Ebwali Secondary School (boys’ football champions), Cheptil High School (boys’ volleyball champions), Kobala Mixed Secondary School (netball champions) were all eliminated at the sub-county, county and regional level. The game’s opening match will see Western region boys’ football champions Shanderema Secondary School take on Khorof-Haraf Secondary School of North Eastern in pool “A”. The other group match will pit newcomers Agoro Sare High School (Nyanza) against Central’s Kirangari High School.
In pool “B”, five-time champions and favourites St Anthony’s Boys High School, Kitale battle Matiliku Secondary School, who are coached by former Harambee Stars coach Francis Kimanzi. The other teams in the pool, 2019 losing finalists Dagoretti High School and Coast’s Serani Secondary School will complete the first day of action.
Shanderema coach Kevin Asuba is confident of a good start and is banking on home support to propel them to victory.
“It is vital that we start with a win which will give us the boost of doing well in the remainder of the tournament. We don’t know much about our opponents, but they must be a good side since they have reached this level,” Asuba said on Monday.
Khorof-Haraf are making their debut at this year’s competition after seeing off last year’s representatives Bute Boys High School in the regional final last week. Attention will be on Kimanzi and his Matiliku side who are also debuting at this stage. The experienced Kimanzi was sacked as Harambee Stars coach in 2020, before he took over the same position at Football Kenya Federation Premier League side Wazito until 2022.
Kimanzi will pit his wits against Peter Mayoyo of St Anthony’s, who won several national titles with Mombasa High School, before crossing over to the “Solidarity Boys”.
