All set for Red Bull Four 2 Score national finals

Part of the action during Red Bull Four 2 Score qualifiers at Burhani Sports Club, Mombasa. [Courtesy]

The 16-team line-up for the Red Bull Four 2 Score national finals is now complete following the conclusion of the qualifying round in Mombasa.

Bayern Mombasa edged out Halike FC 2-1 in the final at the Burhani Sports Club on Saturday to secure the ticket to the knockout stage.

Mkunguni FC won the third-place playoff after beating Serani Sports 3-1.

All the four top teams will proceed to the national event where 12 teams await them having booked their slots from three prior qualifiers.

The 12 other national finalists include Smart Legends (first qualifying round winners), Ngara All Stars, Madaraka All Stars, Wild West Youngins, University of Nairobi (UoN) FC (second qualifying round winners), Desai FC, FC Zaga and Mazkbads.

Others are Soccer Masters (third qualifying round winners), Jamhuri Bulls, Taliban and Touch of Class.

The 16 teams will battle for the honour of being Kenyan champion for the new and innovative 4 vs 4 tournament that challenges players to show their best small-field skills in 10-minute rounds.

Andulkhadir Omar who scored the winner for Bayern via a deflected shot couldn't hide his joy..

"We look forward to the final and hope we can show the same resilience we did today. The competition is going to be more intense so we must be prepared to step up," said Omar.

"We have to demand concentration from each other to stay focused until the last minute because everything can change in a second."

The tournament comes with an exciting set of rules which add to the suspense of the game with goals scored during the first and last minute counting for double.

The national winner will head to the home of German league giants, RB Leipzig, for the World Final later this year where they will face off against 26 other national champions.

The 27 participating countries from four continents are: Kenya, Bahrain, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Egypt, Finland, Germany, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Panama, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, UAE, USA and UK.