Makonda to grace Kitambi Noma Bonanza during the Easter Weekend

ARUSHA: THE Minister for Information, Culture and Sports, Paul Makonda, will officially grace the tenth edition of the annual Kitambi Noma International sports bonanza to be held in Arusha City for three days.

Taking place during Easter Weekend, the Kitambi Noma festival has attracted 20 teams from seven Tanzanian regions as well as sportsmen and women from the neighbouring country of Kenya.

The Chairperson of the Kitambi Noma Veterans, Robert Mbogoma, said the sporting event kicks off on the 3rd day of April with a special ‘Charity Shield’ match between Kijichi All Stars of Dar es Salaam against the Ndovu Veterans of Nairobi.

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Makonda, who is also the Member of Parliament for Arusha-urban, will present the prizes to the winners on Easter Sunday, , during the climax event of the final matches.

Kitambi Noma International Bonanza games will be played at the Youth Empowerment Center (YEC) grounds in the outskirts of the city, as well as at the UWC School venue and at the Saint Constantine International grounds.

Matches are categorized in five special groups, starting with slot A featuring Kitambi Noma Arusha, Kivule Veterans of Dar-es-salaam, PBZ Veterans of Zanzibar, Ndovu FC of Nairobi, and Mandingo Veterans of Tanga.

In group B plays Arusha All Stars, Umoja Roads, and Suka Veterans, all from Dar-es-Salaam, Kahawa Veterans of Zanzibar, and Chemba Veterans of Dodoma.

For Group C, the lineup comprises Kijichi All Stars of Dar-es-salaam, Rock City Veterans of Mwanza, Uhuru Veterans of Moshi, Eagle Veterans of Tanga, and Eastlando of Nairobi.

In Group D the teams are Mwanza All Stars, Suka Orijinol, Altezza Traveling Moshi, Burudani Veterans of Tanga, and Mukuru Wazee of Nairobi.

Kijichi Veterans of Dar-es-salaam are returning to defend their crown in Arusha after emerging as the winners of last year’s Kitambi Noma International Bonanza.

Participants are required to be veterans aged 35 years and above to qualify for the elderly players’ rules.