The elevation of Villa means that the county will have three teams in the Super League as Vihiga United and Vihiga Bullets will be in the second tier in the new season.
Football teams drawn from Vihiga County outdid themselves in the 2022-2023 season and certainly made their fans and the region proud.
Women’s teams; Vihiga and Madira Queens ruled the Premier and the Division One Zone B leagues respectively.
Vihiga, amassed 55 points, seven ahead of the second-placed Gaspo Queens to clinch the title with a round to spare and consequently, will feature in the Group B of the 2023 CAF Women Champions League CECAFA qualifiers.
The qualifying tournament, whose winner will represent the CECAFA region in the CAF Women Champions League, will run from 12th August – 24th August 2023 in Uganda.
Vihiga Queens, will be up against JKT Queens (Tanzania), AS Kigali Women (Rwanda), and New Generation FC (Zanzibar) in the regional tournament.
This will not be the first time the Boniface Nyamunyamu coached side will be playing in the international level as they took part in the inaugural edition held in 2021 in Nairobi and went to debut in CAF Champions League.
Madira were also impressive in the third tier as they won the Zone B league and as a result, will feature in the top-flight next season.
The club was promoted alongside Kibera Soccer Queens who won the Zone A league.
It will be interesting to watch the derby pitting Vihiga Queens and Madira next season.
The performance Bunyore Starlets put in top flight last season also deserves a mention as the girls towered all challenges to finish ninth with 28 points. This means that the county will have three teams in the women’s top flight in the new season.
Luanda Villa saved the faces of the men’s teams in the county as the team reigned supreme in the Division One Zone B league and therefore, will feature in the National Super League next season.
They won the Zone B league at the expense of Zoo FC who will battle Nairobi United in the playoff scheduled for Sunday in Nakuru.
The elevation of Villa means that the county will have three teams in the Super League as Vihiga United and Vihiga Bullets will be in the second tier in the new season.
While Villa deserve all praises they are getting, the same can’t be said on Bullets as they finished bottom in the men’s Premier League and got relegated.
Vihiga United also struggled financially in the Super League and were just a walkover away from getting relegated.
The team cannot sign and register new players unless they clear with former foreign player Junior Adeyefa who reported the club to FIFA.