SIXTEEN teams have registered for the North Rift Copa Coca cola U-17 tournament set to begin on Saturday at Wareng High school grounds in Eldoret.

They include Uasin Gishu, Nandi North, and Keiyo, Marakwet and Nandi South men and women’s teams that will battle for top honours in the tourney.

The tourney will be used to select the team that will represent the region during the tournaments’ Rift valley provincial championships to be held in Nakuru later this month.

North Rift FKF chairman Joseph Kiptash said a panel of two coaches will assist in selecting the men’s and women’s teams on Saturday.

“We already have the coaches that will assist us in selecting our team. Our target is to get the best players who will make us win the title.”Kiptash said.

He added that the region is committed to nurturing football talent.

“There many experienced players in the region and we want to ensure that they get the limelight through the tournament (Copa).” he said.

The tournament will kick off at 8.00 am with Kiptash urging all the teams to arrive earlier.