By James Ahela
Kenya Association of Technical Institutions (KATTI) North Rift chairman Erick Tanui has sent out a warning to other regions to brace themselves for stiff competition ahead of nationals’ championships to be held in Eldoret in mid-June.
Tanui who was speaking to journalists on Saturday at the closing event of a three-day north rift competition held at the Eldoret National Polytechnic said the competitions are going to be stiffer at the national level this year as the region hosts the annual championships.
“We have prepared our teams well and are going to stage a good show in the upcoming games to be held here as from 19th June 2024,” he said.
During the three-day North Rift KATTI championships, 20 out of the 27 technical institutions in the region participated in football, netball and basketball. Football men attracted seventeen teams.
Dominant North Rift institutions humbled
It was a stage where luck and hard work saw new champions crowned and dominant institutions humbled in the three categories. Tanui observed that there’s growth in the sport from the last championships.
“Small institutions like Kitelakapel and Koshin have really come out strongly this year winning men’s and women’s football respectively in a region with giant colleges, this is a remarkable improvement and will be reflected in the national competitions,’’ he said.
West Pokot’s Kitelakapel Technical Training Institute won 4-3 against Kitale National Polytechnic on post-match penalties after a barren draw in regular time to be crowned men’s football champions.
The Boaz Masian-coached side’s journey to the finals was murky having lost 3-0 against RVTTI in the opening match before bouncing back to beat both Turkana East Tvc and Eldama Ravine TTI 4-0 score line.
Having qualified for the quarter-finals, Kitelakapel knocked out Kiminini TTI 2-0 before eliminating hosts Eldoret Polytechnic 4-2 on post-match penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Masian now eyes national games after a stellar performance in his debut in the championships.
“We have never been to these regional games, our institution is facing a lot of financial challenges and the fact that we have made it to the national in our first attempt is a success story to us,” he said while appealing to the general public for the support as his team returns to prepare for the national games.
“We do not have a good training ground, I appeal to any well-wisher or any stakeholder to help us grade our training field to enable us to have a conducive training ground,” he said.
Koshin TTI crowned KATTI queens
In women’s football, Koshin TTI surprised spectators as they beat vibrant Kitale National Polytechnic 2-0 in the finals. Monica Etot opened the score moments before halftime before setting up captain Pauline Machimbo who slotted home a grass cutter in the 73rd minute.
Koshin’s deputy dean of students, Kipchumba Kesis applauded the team having won their first-ever final in women’s football.
“We are so happy as an institution, our focus is not only in academics but also in co-curricular activities reinforcing the objectives of the competence-based education training rolled out by the government,” he said.
In netball women, Rift Valley Technical Training Insitute (RVTTI) emerged champions beating Kitale Polytechnic in the finals while Eldoret Polytechnic finished third after seeing off Koshin TTI.
In Basketball women, The Eldoret National Polytechnic emerged champions after beating rival Kitale as RVTTI beat Baringo National Polytechnic to finish third. Hosts Eldoret Polytechnic lost to RVTTI in the men’s basketball final as Kitale beat Eldama Ravine TTI to complete the podium finish.
Overall North Rift KATTI performance
- Kitale National Polytechnic
- The Eldoret National Polytechnic
- Rift Valley Technical Training Institute
- Kitelakapel TTI & Koshin TTI
