Raila, Sakaja Lead Kenyan Fans To Dar For SportPesa Cup Final

26th January 2019

Four lucky winners of a SportPesa online competition among the group that arrived in the Tanzanian commercial capital ahead of Sunday's Sharks, Bandari decider

SNAPPING HAPPINESS: Winners of the 'Win A Trip' online competition take a selfie at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi ahead of their flight to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania for the 2019 SportPesa Cup final on Saturday, January 26, 2019. PHOTO/SPN
SNAPPING HAPPINESS: Winners of the 'Win A Trip' online competition take a selfie at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi ahead of their flight to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania for the 2019 SportPesa Cup final on Saturday, January 26, 2019. PHOTO/SPN
SUMMARY
  • Kenyan outfits Kariobangi Sharks FC and Bandari FC will face-off in the showpiece match of the third edition of the eight-team knockout tournament on Sunday afternoon from 4:15pm local time (+3GMT)
  • “I was supporting Gor Mahia but now I will be behind Kariobangi Sharks. This is my first foreign trip and time to fly in a plane and I’m so excited,” Janet Juma gushed
  • Earlier on Saturday, Football Kenya Federation President, Nick Mwendwa visited both teams as they prepared for the final showdown

DAR-ES-SALAAM, Tanzania- Former Prime Minister, Raila Amolo Odinga and Nairobi Senator, Johnson Sakaja were among dignitary and ordinary Kenyan football fans who arrived in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania on Saturday for the final of the 2019 SportPesa Cup.

Kenyan outfits Kariobangi Sharks FC and Bandari FC will face-off in the showpiece match of the third edition of the eight-team knockout tournament on Sunday afternoon from 4:15pm local time (+3GMT).

Raila and Sakaja were joined by among others, four lucky fans that won an online competition organised by tournament facilitators and global gaming giants, SportPesa on their Twitter and Facebook handles.

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The competition dubbed ‘Win A Trip’ saw Valentine Andeyo Malala (Facebook - Malala Andeyo Valentine, Twitter - @ValentineAndeyo and Instagram – ValentineAndeyo), Julius Cheche Mwaniki alias Sir Cheche (Facebook - Sir Cheche, Twitter - Sir_Cheche and Instagram - Sir_Cheche) as well as Janet Juma (Facebook - Janet Juma, Instagram - Janet Juma) flown to the Tanzanian commercial capital.

Collins Salasya (Facebook - Collins Salasya Ole Kitungulu, Twitter - @ColloSalasya and Instagram - @ColloSalasya) rounded off the list of excited winners who participated in the competition where entrants took selfies in the SP Cup challenge.

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They were selected after their posts received the most engagement and will share their experiences of the final on social media to keep their followers updated on events in Dar under the tournament official hashtag #SportPesaCup.

“I was supporting Gor Mahia but now I will be behind Kariobangi Sharks. This is my first foreign trip and time to fly in a plane and I’m so excited,” Janet Juma gushed.

Two-time tournament winners Gor were stunned out of the competition by underdogs Mbao FC of Tanzania on Wednesday in the third quarterfinal of the competition.

Andeyo and Salasya were rooting for the 2017 beaten SP Cup finalists AFC Leopards SC who also bowed out at the last eight for the second edition in a row.

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“I will be supporting Bandari but its great that the final is an all Kenyan affair. We are delighted to share this experience. In this digital age, social media play a huge role and this is an example of how important it has become in sharing experiences,” Salasya noted.

At the same time, fans of the Dockers were expected in Dar later in the night after travelling by bus from the coastal city of Mombasa courtesy of the club’s title partners Kenya Ports Authority.

Earlier on Saturday, Football Kenya Federation President, Nick Mwendwa visited both teams as they prepared for the final showdown.

Sharks and Bandari will feature in the second all Kenyan  SP Cup final in Dar following the 2017 decider where Gor humbled fierce rivals Leopards 3-0.

-Teresia Akoth and Jane Njoroge contributed to this report