School Games: Why Butere Girls coach is confident of third consecutive football crown

Defending champions Butere Girls High School coach Howard Shikanga says the team will not settle for anything less than a third consecutive football title in the Kenya Secondary School Sports Association National Term Two Games, which kicked off in Kakamega on Sunday.

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“We are in a relatively easy pool, and I believe the real work for us will start in the semi-finals. We are determined to defend the national title,” Shikanga told Nation Sport.

“We are also targeting the East Africa trophy after we lost to St Noah Girls of Uganda 1-0 in last year’s final in Kampala. We have a rich technical bench in Edwin Sakwa and Andrew Diego who step in when I’m attending class sessions,” the computer and mathematics teacher added.

Ticket to regional games

Butere have been drawn in Pool B alongside fellow Western Region side Madira Girls High School, Nyanza Region champions Kobala Mixed Secondary School, and the little-known Mwanambeyu Secondary School, from Kwale.

Kobala's Deputy Principal and coach Julius Aminga said they are returning to the national games a better side, having missed the last two editions, in 2023 and 2024.

“Last year, the school competed at the Europe Day Tournament in Romania and won the title.

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Our institution, alongside Highway Secondary School from Nairobi, won the slots during the qualifiers at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang’ata. Kobala beat Dagoretti Mixed School 4-1 to earn the ticket to the Romania tournament.

We got experience and exposure that have come in handy,” said Aminga, a chemistry and agriculture teacher.

“We last competed in the East African Games in 2015 in Rwanda. We hope to clinch the ticket to the regional games that will be hosted in Kenya.

Our team captain, Scovia Awour, was part of the Kenya Under-17 team that competed in the World Cup in the Dominican Republic, and so she brings vast experience to the squad,” he added.

Kobala humiliated Sepsi 17-0 and Csitzereba 5-0 in the three-team tournament in Romania.

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Targeting title

Meanwhile, Mwanambeyu, from Ganze Constituency, said they are ready for the games, with coach Joseph Oyoo aiming to land the title in their maiden appearance.

“Our feat is historical. I started the team last year, but we failed to go past county-level competition. We went back to the drawing board, got our act together, and now we have qualified for the nationals,” he said.

Mwanambeyu beat Kachororoni Secondary School 4-2 during the regional final to qualify for the nationals for the first time.