The Nyanza regional finals of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba ended with Awendo Football Academy as champions. Its young players also completed a different clinic that went beyond football tactics and drills. That clinic covered personal branding, mental health and data privacy for all the young footballers.
Safaricom Chapa Dimba Season Five is a grassroot countrywide competition for young football talent in Kenya. It aims to identify and nurture football talent across Kenya through regional and national finals. All players in this competition are still aged between 15 and 18 years old.
The mental health session was led by Doris Chege, a young and skilled clinical psychologist. She helped the players recognise early signs that they may be struggling mentally or emotionally.
“They need to normalise conversations about mental health,” said Doris Chege, a clinical psychologist.
Calvins Okello was a winner on and off the pitch during the Nyanza regional finals. His team, Awendo Football Academy, were crowned champions of the Nyanza region after the final. “Not to share information about myself with just anyone,” said Calvins Okello, a footballer.
He also gained valuable wisdom during the different football clinic held at the regional finals. Data privacy formed another important core module of the Nyanza clinic for all young footballers.
“Always ensure that you are protecting your identity,” said Doreen Mwihaki, Risk and Compliance at Safaricom.
Young players must carefully guard their new identity online as their public profiles grow rapidly. The same visibility that attracts scouts can also expose them to real serious online risk. They need to know how to protect themselves as minors in a public competition.
Personal branding and media training followed with Mike Okinyi, a seasoned Kenyan sports journalist.
“They have to know how to brand themselves from the word go,” said Mike Okinyi, a seasoned sports journalist.
He prepared players to engage media and build a very strong public image carefully early.
Lamine Yamal shows how young football talent and personal brand can attract many global brands. He won the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Spain at the young age of 19. He later became the face of Coca Cola’s World Cup global campaign for younger audiences.
The clinic treated all young athletes as both emerging football players and public figures. It linked football talent to strong mental readiness, good basic media literacy and digital safety. It also linked all football promise to clear commercial discipline and very strong personal protection.
For Safaricom, the programme builds strong community relevance and new youth engagement across Kenya today. The remaining clinics for Season Five will reach several more regions across the Kenyan country. They are all planned for the major Eastern, Northeastern, Coast, Rift and Nairobi regional finals.
They will also run later during the upcoming main Safaricom Chapa Dimba national final games. This extends the clinic model to many more young footballers across the diverse Kenyan country. The Nyanza finals showed that football development can address many important life skills for young players.
Awendo Football Academy lifted the regional title, but its young players gained more than a trophy. They learned to always carefully protect their own data, their mind and their public image. That combination may shape the next young generation of Kenyan footballers in many coming years.
