SAVARA LAUNCHES #SaWA FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT– 17th and 18th June 2017

Sauti Sol’s Savara Mudigi is set to launch the #SaWA Football Tournament on 17^th and 18^th June 2017. The 2-day event will be held at Camp Toyoyo in Jericho between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on the 17th and between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the 18^th. This tournament is one of the three community events that are being implemented by Savara Mudigi’s community initiative dubbed #SaWA (Savara Women’s Advancement Program).

The tournament is a 5-a-side set up with a total of 20 teams from Eastlands. Each team will have 5 players and at least two players must be women. All players must be between the age of 18 and 25. To support the players, other teams participating in the tournament will be from Sauti Sol, Betin Foundations and other #SaWA partners. Cash prizes of Ksh. 100,000, Ksh. 50,000 and Ksh. 25,000 will be awarded to the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd teams respectively. On ground recruitment for the teams will start on 1^st June to 14^th June 2017 and will be done by #SaWA ambassadors who will visit a majority of the hoods in Eastlands. “People don’t think ladies can play football and I want everyone to come and see that we can do it too – and we can do it well”, says 22 year old Mel, a lady footballer from Kiambiu Slums.

#SaWA seeks to engage and empower the Eastlands community where Savara was born and raised. Ahead of the tournament, Savara says: “When I was younger, I used to play football as a hobby and it is one of the things that enabled me to form close relationships in the hood, be healthy and fit and also avoid destructive behavior. Football brings people from all walks of life together and #SaWA wants to bring the community together to celebrate and empower women. What better way than through engaging a football tournament – and I want the women players at home to come watch and play as well!”

The tournament will be followed by the #SaWA Concert that will host Sauti Sol’s first concert in Eastlands. This show will also feature ZJ Heno and Muzikal Sheriff and MC Philipo and talented women from the Eastlands community who will perform alongside the best band in Africa.

The culmination of #SaWA will be the pilot phase of a community women’s  training and mentorship program that will recruit 50 ladies between 18-25 years from the Nairobi Eastlands area. The application for the #SaWA Training & Mentorship program will also be held on the ground during the tournament at Camp Toyoyo, Jericho. On 21st June 2017, the shortlisted applicants will receive a call to schedule their interview slots. The interviews will be held from 23rd June to 25th June 2017 and the participants of the SaWA program will be contacted on 26th June 2017.