Reigning 1500m BingwaFest National Champion, Purity Chepkirui, is set to defend her title during the Nyanza Region leg at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Stadium in Siaya County.
The Second season of the multi-discipline sports extravaganza kicked-off last month as Nakuru hosted the Rift Valley Region event at the Afraha Stadium and will see teams and individuals battle for a share of the Sh17 million prize kitty per region.
In a statement, Betika said that Chepkirui is among more than 500 athletes who have registered so far, aiming to share a prize pool of over Sh6M across various track disciplines on display. Both male and female athletes will receive equal prize money. Bib collection will be done at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Stadium on Wednesday.
Football action kicked-off on September 22, with preliminary matches, and will be played at The Siaya Polytechnic Grounds, Bondo Complex Academy, and the Siaya Prison Grounds, culminating on Sunday at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Stadium.
Betika Head of Brand, Eric Mwiti, said this season, their focus is to build on the inaugural edition, which brought out the power that sports have to bring together and transform communities.
Mwiti expressed his anxiety to see teams from across various sports disciplines, take their very best to the field, the track, and the court.
“It is a pleasure going back to Siaya this week as we host the Nyanza Region leg. We hosted the athletics national finals there, and they gave us a reason to go back, and now we will be having all the sports disciplines within BingwaFest played there.
Rugby 10s and 3×3 basketball showdown, will tip-off starting, Friday, September 26, at the Siaya KMTC Grounds and the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Stadium, respectively and will run through to Sunday.
Winners in football and rugby, both men and women, will pocket Sh1 million each, while the winning teams in the 3×3 basketball will take home Sh500,000.
The first runners-up for football and rugby will be awarded Sh500,000, while the Second runners-up are set to receive Sh250,000. In basketball, the teams that finish second and third will take home Sh250,000 and Sh100,000, respectively.
Gold medalists in the lucrative 10,000m will take home Sh300,000 as the first and second runners-up will pocket Sh250,000 and Sh200,000 respectively.
The athletes who finish fourth and fifth, will round-off the prize bracket and will receive Sh100,000 and Sh75,000 in that order.
In the 5,000m category, winners will be awarded Sh250,000, second-place finishers Sh150,000, third place Sh100,000, fourth place Sh50,000, and fifth place Sh30,000.
Prizes for the top five in the 100m, 4000m, 800m, and 1,500m will be the same, with gold medalists receiving Sh150,000, silver medalists Sh100,000, and bronze medalists Sh60,000. The fourth and fifth place finishers will pocket Sh30,000 and Sh20,000.
Just like in the first season, there will be a free medical camp in Siaya that will run throughout the weekend and will offer general consultation services, specialist consultation services, laboratory and pharmacy services.
Plantech FC and Shabbab Ladies won the football titles in Nakuru last month, while Menengai Oilers Academy, Nakuru Rugby Women triumphed in rugby, with Pirates Chapter and Hookies emerging basketball champions.
By Anita Omwenga
