In efforts to nurture talents during the December festive season, Amukura East Member of the County Assembly in Teso South Sub County, Leonard Onyondo, has donated pairs of uniforms and balls to 10 clubs that participated in ongoing ward tournaments.
The Hon Onyondo Cup, whose climax will be held on December 27, 2023, has been divided into two zones. Zone A features Aturet, Kochek, Kamunuoit, Akobwait, and Kosera, with Zone B comprising Kotur, Amukura Kwangamor, Kidera, and Okisimo sub-locations.
Speaker of the County Assembly of Busia, Fredrick Odilo, while presiding over the event, challenged youths to refrain from criminal activities, especially drug abuse, which has hampered the development of talents in the region.
In the opening match, Kakemer FC dominated their entire 90 minutes of play against Akobwait, thrashing their opponent 2-0 with a goal in each half.
Dan Aja had put county league participants Kakemer on a 10th-minute goal that beat Akobwait goalkeeper Bashir Ologor all the way to make it 1-0 at the break.
The hosts rallied back, coming close to levelling the score, but Kakemer’s defence held onto the narrow lead. The final nail in Akobwait’s coffin was orchestrated by Carlos Ijaa when he converted a penalty kick into a goal in the dying minutes to end the match 2-0 in their favour.
Fans witnessed melodrama when a student named Collins Adenya, who sat for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams this year, was given the honour of officiating the match as a centre referee. His precision and mastery of the rules of the game puzzled many people, with the sky being the limit in his pursuit of national and international honours.
Speaker Hon. Odilo said the move by Hon. Onyondo to sponsor the Cup is laudable as it will help in talent nurturing and keep the youths busy during long festive holidays.
Hon. Onyondo said that as a sportsman, he included sports promotion in his manifesto, with the financial crunch crippling county and national governments, adding that he opted to use his rapport with his friends, including the speaker, to finance this edition of the Cup.
“Apart from the uniforms and balls participating teams have received, winners will also receive trophies and cash tokens on the final day. I would have wished to organise a ward league between February and December annually, but financial constraints are the undoing,” he said, promising to organise a two-week Under-15 youth Cup every February.
The MCA said the finals on December 27 will also include other sports disciplines like short races, traditional carrying of pots on heads by women, and Ajua for old men, among others.
By Absalom Namwalo
