The Airtel Rising Stars tournament is gaining more steam as it gets closer to the national finals. Whereas the U17 Boys and Girls tournament is meant to expose the future stars, the excitement goes beyond the players, coaches and team managers.
During the climax of the Eastern and North Eastern regional finals at Soroti sports grounds last Sunday, Scovia Ninsiima, the Airtel-Uganda Eastern region business manager urged the selected players to represent the region at the national finals next month to fight hard and bring the national title to the Eastern region.
“As Airtel-Uganda, we are proud of this tournament that has unearthed a lot of talent from the grassroots. It embraces boys and girls who go to school and the underprivileged who do not. What we have witnessed shows that Airtel is growing the game in the country –particularly in the East and North East,” noted Ninsiima, who added.
“Whereas it is a platform for exposure, I want to urge the players selected to represent this region to ensure that the title comes back home to Eastern region –which is my area of jurisdiction.” The ARS Eastern and North Eastern regional qualifiers were played for three days with She Kataka retaining the Eastern Girls title while Busia Trust won the Boys title.
In the North East region, Lifeline (Bukedea) and Olila High School (Soroti) won the Girls and Boys titles respectively. The regional qualifiers continue this coming weekend with the Northern and West Nile region qualifiers in Lira town.
Eastern and North Eastern awards:
Most Valuable Player (MVPS)
Girls:
East -Esther Namata (She Kataka) – Smart Phone
North East -Sarah Anifo (Echoes High School) – Smart Phone
Boys:
East -Ivan Nabisingura (Busia Trust) – Smart Phone
North East -Ben Okiria (Olila High School)
Top Scorers:
Girls:
Eastern -Esther Namata (She Kataka) – Four Goals
North East -Amoding Sifora (Olila High School) – Three goals
Boys:
East -Shakuru Mafabi (Kataka) – 5 goals
North East -Michael Okeddi (Lifeline) – 6 goals
Best Goalkeepers:
Girls:
East -Elizabeth Nyago
North East -Eclas Ajumo (Olila High School)
Boys:
East -Ashraf Wambye (True Vine Academy)
North East -Edward Etewo
Teams Awards:
North East:
Girls- Olila High School
Runners up- Echoes High School, Soroti
Boys- Lifeline (Bukedea)
Runners up- Olila High School (Soroti)
East:
Girls- She Kataka (Mbale)
Runners up – True Vine Academy (Tororo)
Boys -Busia Trust SS (Busia)
Runners up -Olila High School
