Chandia, Ababiku shine as Simba Girls win West Nile ARS qualifiers

Airtel Rising Stars 2019 (West Nile Region)

Girls Final:

Simba (Koboko) 2-0 Paidha Women (Zombo)

Boys Final:

Bright Light 0-1 Koboko Boys

Despite being the tiny and youngest on the pitch, Rosemary Stency Ababiku turned out the fans’ darling as Simba Girls FC were crowned Girls champions of the West Nile region in the 2019 Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) U-17 on Sunday in Lira.

The Koboko based Simba Girls FC beat Paidha Women 2-0 in the final at the Uganda Technical College (UTC), Lira on Sunday during the climax of both West Nile and Northern regions’ qualifiers.

Ababiku and Lillian Chandia were the scorers of Simba in the final with both goals coming in the opening 45 minutes.

Only two teams registered from West Nile with Simba Gilrs winning the earlier contest as Chandia scored a brace to finish top scorer with three goals.

“I am happy that I managed to score for my team (Simba) and thank the rest of my teammates for the work well done,” Ababiku, a 13-year-old P5 pupil at Father Bilbao Primary Schol noted. Meanwhile, Bright Light fell to Koboko Boys 1-0 in the West Nile boys’ final.

The next regional qualifiers will take place next weekend in Masindi for both Kitara and Western region. The regional winners took home Shs1.5m each while the runners up got Shs1m.

The national finals will be held in Kampala early next month where the winners have Shs7m at stake while the runners up have Shs5m.

Airtel-Uganda also gave out football equipment to five schools from Northern and West Nile region as part of this year’s campaign.

Outstanding Individuals:

West Nile Girls:

MVP: Lillian Chandia (Simba)

Best Goalkeeper: Lydia Aserua (Simba)

Top Scorer: Lillian Chandia (Simba) – 3 Goals

Northern Girls:

MVP: Elizabeth Apili (The Lioness) – Airtel SMART Phone

Best Goalkeeper: Rebecca Auma (Amugu) – Football

Top Scorer: Hellen Aguti (Amugu) – 3 Goals

West Nile Boys: