Marked for Japheth Lihanda
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Jun 2030
43 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match1 Jun 2030
Beaten 0‑4 by Ulinzi Stars, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Boardroom3 Jun 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Kenneth Muguna has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom3 Jun 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Sofapaka
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market3 Jun 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sofapaka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Jun 2030
David Nshimirimana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets3 Jun 2030
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market3 Jun 2030
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” David Nshimirimana has his answer from Sofapaka; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad27 May 2030
Japheth Lihanda damages knee ligaments — 50 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 50 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad27 May 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match25 May 2030
1‑6 to Kenya Police, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market27 May 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sofapaka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 May 2030
Words exchanged at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match25 May 2030
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Sofapaka and Kenya Police in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad27 May 2030
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout27 May 2030
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match27 May 2030
The half-term report on Sofapaka
Position 15, 15 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 May 2030
57 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad20 May 2030
A falling-out at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings20 May 2030
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.50 on the card, and the Sofapaka support went home talking about one name.
Market20 May 2030
Dennis Ouma is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Sofapaka has been clear about where Dennis Ouma stands, which is more than many ever get.
Boardroom20 May 2030
Sofapaka can only buy what they sell
Nobody has barred the club from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every incoming name comes with an outgoing one attached.
The dugout20 May 2030
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Kenneth Muguna chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout20 May 2030
Erick Ongiri gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match18 May 2030
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Muranga Seal defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad20 May 2030
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Sofapaka lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 May 2030
Japheth Lihanda damages knee ligaments — 64 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 64 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match8 May 2030
The cup run ends for Sofapaka
1‑2 against Kariobangi Sharks, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad13 May 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market13 May 2030
Erick Ongiri hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sofapaka can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 May 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 May 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ebiabowei Baker and Sofapaka agree another 1 years.
Match11 May 2030
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Eugene Wethuli. 1‑0 against Bidco United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings13 May 2030
19 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
In brief
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Player ratings
Nobody on the pitch touched Titus Achesa
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Douglas Ochoko asks for a word with the manager
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 May 2030
Japheth Lihanda damages knee ligaments — 71 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 71 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market6 May 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sofapaka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad6 May 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad6 May 2030
283 appearances across 8 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Sofapaka know what they have.
Squad6 May 2030
Titus Achesa in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match4 May 2030
0‑2 to Kariobangi Sharks, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market6 May 2030
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout6 May 2030
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kenneth Muguna after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Boardroom6 May 2030
91% of the income goes out in wages at Sofapaka
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Apr 2030
78 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match27 Apr 2030
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Mara Sugar, and it could have been more.
Market29 Apr 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sofapaka is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings29 Apr 2030
Titus Achesa, 35, rolls back the years — 8.20
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.20 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Market29 Apr 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sofapaka can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Words exchanged at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The terraces29 Apr 2030
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings29 Apr 2030
Stephen Bonney was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.16. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Player ratings29 Apr 2030
Douglas Ochoko was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.10. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Apr 2030
85 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad22 Apr 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad22 Apr 2030
A falling-out at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match20 Apr 2030
Douglas Ochoko scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to KCB, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout22 Apr 2030
The manager makes an example of Ebiabowei Baker
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad22 Apr 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Clinton Onyango and Sofapaka agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout22 Apr 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Kenneth Muguna to a room that had heard them before.
Boardroom22 Apr 2030
Nobody arrives at Sofapaka until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Sofapaka this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
Market22 Apr 2030
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Sofapaka could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Apr 2030
92 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match13 Apr 2030
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Sofapaka scored in the 95th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Market15 Apr 2030
Erick Ongiri hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sofapaka can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Apr 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Apr 2030
The drought breaks for Sofapaka
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Shabana were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
The terraces15 Apr 2030
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Martin Owusu has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match13 Apr 2030
Shabana made Sofapaka work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings15 Apr 2030
7.80, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Sofapaka had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout15 Apr 2030
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Kenneth Muguna on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Apr 2030
Japheth Lihanda damages knee ligaments — 99 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 99 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market8 Apr 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sofapaka can pretend not to have heard.
Match6 Apr 2030
No end in sight to Sofapaka's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Sofapaka has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Apr 2030
David Nshimirimana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match6 Apr 2030
1‑3 to Gor Mahia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Match6 Apr 2030
Sofapaka leaking at the back
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
The dugout8 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Elvis Ochoro, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Apr 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Elvis Rupia and Sofapaka agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout8 Apr 2030
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Apr 2030
106 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match30 Mar 2030
Nowhere to hide for Sofapaka
1‑4 against Bandari, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market1 Apr 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sofapaka is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match30 Mar 2030
The wait goes on for Sofapaka
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market1 Apr 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sofapaka can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Words exchanged at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout1 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eugene Wethuli, and the manager let it.
Boardroom1 Apr 2030
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Mar 2030
Japheth Lihanda damages knee ligaments — 113 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 113 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings25 Mar 2030
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.91, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match23 Mar 2030
The wait goes on for Sofapaka
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad25 Mar 2030
A falling-out at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match23 Mar 2030
Late, late show earns Sofapaka a point
Minute 89, against APS Bomet, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Match23 Mar 2030
It needed Douglas Ochoko to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against APS Bomet, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Boardroom25 Mar 2030
Sofapaka can only buy what they sell
Nobody has barred the club from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every incoming name comes with an outgoing one attached.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Kenneth Muguna chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Mar 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Japheth Lihanda
120 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sofapaka lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match16 Mar 2030
0‑3 to Mathare United, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Titus Achesa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom18 Mar 2030
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout18 Mar 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Kenneth Muguna to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout18 Mar 2030
Douglas Ochoko knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sofapaka, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Off the academy pitches and onto a senior team sheet at 15. The debut is the easy part; the second appearance is the one every young player has to earn.
Market18 Mar 2030
The Elvis Ochoro talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sofapaka know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market18 Mar 2030
5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Sofapaka money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Mar 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Japheth Lihanda
127 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sofapaka lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market11 Mar 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sofapaka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Mar 2030
David Nshimirimana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match9 Mar 2030
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings11 Mar 2030
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout11 Mar 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Kenneth Muguna to a room that had heard them before.
Looking ahead11 Mar 2030
The leaders are next for Sofapaka
Mathare United top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
The dugout11 Mar 2030
The manager makes an example of Erick Ongiri
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout11 Mar 2030
The plan did not have a place for Eugene Wethuli
Nobody at Sofapaka is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Mar 2030
134 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match2 Mar 2030
Beaten 1‑4 by Kakamega Homeboyz, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market4 Mar 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sofapaka is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market4 Mar 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sofapaka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Mar 2030
Words exchanged at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout4 Mar 2030
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom4 Mar 2030
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout4 Mar 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Kenneth Muguna to a room that had heard them before.
Squad4 Mar 2030
Beaten 4 times, 5 saves, and an afternoon that will go on his record whether it was his fault or the defence’s. It is the quiet unfairness of the position.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Feb 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Japheth Lihanda
141 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sofapaka lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings25 Feb 2030
A defender's goal wins it for Sofapaka — 7.83
1 for Edwin Lutta, marked 7.83, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad25 Feb 2030
A falling-out at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match23 Feb 2030
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Edwin Lutta. 1‑0 against Nairobi United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
The manager makes an example of Elvis Ochoro
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings25 Feb 2030
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
Boardroom25 Feb 2030
Nobody arrives at Sofapaka until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Sofapaka this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
Eugene Wethuli knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sofapaka, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Feb 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match16 Feb 2030
Beaten 0‑4 by AFC Leopards, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market18 Feb 2030
Only the photograph left for Amos Kipkirui
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Amos Kipkirui will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sofapaka the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market18 Feb 2030
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Ulinzi Stars had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Match16 Feb 2030
The wait goes on for Sofapaka
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad18 Feb 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings18 Feb 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout18 Feb 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Nshimirimana, and the manager let it.
Squad18 Feb 2030
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Feb 2030
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market11 Feb 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Words exchanged at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets11 Feb 2030
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match9 Feb 2030
A point taken on 90 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Market11 Feb 2030
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad11 Feb 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dennis Manyama and Sofapaka agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match9 Feb 2030
It needed Douglas Ochoko to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Tusker, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom14 Jan 2030
Pressure builds in the Sofapaka boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market14 Jan 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sofapaka can pretend not to have heard.
Market14 Jan 2030
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Martin Owusu had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Squad14 Jan 2030
Words exchanged at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Jan 2030
A row about effort at Sofapaka
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Clifton Miheso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Jan 2030
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout14 Jan 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Japheth Lihanda, and the manager let it.
Market14 Jan 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Sebastian Ikekhai’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market14 Jan 2030
7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Sofapaka could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Jan 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Kenneth Muguna has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom7 Jan 2030
Crisis meeting at Sofapaka
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Market7 Jan 2030
Samuel Kahata hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sofapaka can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Jan 2030
David Nshimirimana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Clifton Miheso falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets7 Jan 2030
Sofapaka asked and AFC Leopards said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout7 Jan 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Elvis Ochoro, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Sofapaka will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Dec 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market31 Dec 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Boardroom31 Dec 2029
Sofapaka have to sell first
The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Words at Sofapaka training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Juma is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout31 Dec 2029
Elvis Ochoro asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market31 Dec 2029
The name of Eugene Wethuli keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Sofapaka say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Nov 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Douglas Ochoko
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sofapaka lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market26 Nov 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sofapaka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market26 Nov 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sofapaka is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad26 Nov 2029
A falling-out at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at Sofapaka training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clifton Miheso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Oct 2029
57 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad15 Oct 2029
A fracture rules Ebiabowei Baker out for 14 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sofapaka will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 Oct 2029
David Nshimirimana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Sep 2029
Douglas Ochoko damages knee ligaments — 92 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 92 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings10 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market10 Sep 2029
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Squad10 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Words at Sofapaka training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clifton Miheso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets10 Sep 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Gor Mahia have kept their man, and Sofapaka go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
Elvis Ochoro gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match8 Sep 2029
Sofapaka rescue it on 92 minutes
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 92. Bidco United had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Aug 2029
A fracture rules Ebiabowei Baker out for 70 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sofapaka will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad20 Aug 2029
A one-man rearguard from Elvis Ochoro
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match18 Aug 2029
The wait goes on for Sofapaka
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad20 Aug 2029
David Nshimirimana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match18 Aug 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Words at Sofapaka training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clifton Miheso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match18 Aug 2029
Sofapaka are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Boardroom20 Aug 2029
Sofapaka have to sell first
The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Jul 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 105 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match11 Jul 2029
AFC Leopards ended it 1‑3. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Market16 Jul 2029
Maqbul Ochola hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sofapaka can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Titus Achesa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Clifton Miheso falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets16 Jul 2029
Sofapaka asked and AFC Leopards said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match14 Jul 2029
A 2‑0 win over Mathare United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Victor Omune commits to Sofapaka for another 1 years.
The dugout16 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Japheth Lihanda
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 May 2029
154 days out for Ebiabowei Baker after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Sofapaka will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad28 May 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match26 May 2029
Beaten 1‑4 by Kenya Police, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match26 May 2029
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 10 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Market28 May 2029
Only the photograph left for Clinton Kahata
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Clinton Kahata will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sofapaka the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings28 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 May 2029
Titus Achesa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 May 2029
Words at Sofapaka training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clifton Miheso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout28 May 2029
The manager makes an example of David King'atua
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 May 2029
161 days out for Ebiabowei Baker after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Sofapaka will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match19 May 2029
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Sofapaka did not have in the autumn.
Squad21 May 2029
David Nshimirimana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at Sofapaka training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clifton Miheso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings21 May 2029
John Omondi beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match19 May 2029
The run at home goes on for Sofapaka
8 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
The dugout21 May 2029
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Sofapaka told Japheth Lihanda something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout21 May 2029
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout21 May 2029
Clifton Miheso knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sofapaka, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The terraces7 May 2029
Supporters organise against the Sofapaka board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Player ratings7 May 2029
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.73, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad7 May 2029
A muscle injury sidelines Duncan Otieno for 16 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Sofapaka will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Match5 May 2029
Still nobody has beaten Sofapaka
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad7 May 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Titus Achesa and Sofapaka agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 May 2029
A falling-out at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom7 May 2029
Sofapaka counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Sofapaka now.
Player ratings7 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
In brief
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Squad
Words at Sofapaka training over how hard people work
-
Player ratings
Sebastian Ikekhai was on a different afternoon to everybody else
-
Boardroom
Wages swallow 106% of the Sofapaka income
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Apr 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for David King'atua
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sofapaka lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market2 Apr 2029
Clinton Kahata has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sofapaka they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words exchanged at Sofapaka
Clifton Miheso and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Japheth Lihanda
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Marked 7.47 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Sofapaka had the best player on the pitch.
Squad2 Apr 2029
A place in the month's best eleven for Titus Achesa
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Titus Achesa has come out of that comparison in the side, and Sofapaka have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Squad2 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Sofapaka
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Owusu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Feb 2029
73 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sofapaka lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
The club looked outside for a month, found nothing it preferred, and handed the job to the man who had been doing it anyway. He knows the building; now he has to prove he knows the rest.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Martin Owusu, 17, plays like he has been here for years — 7.80
A mark of 7.80 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 17-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad26 Feb 2029
David Nshimirimana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Clifton Miheso falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The terraces26 Feb 2029
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 17-year-old it feels ownership of. Martin Owusu has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match24 Feb 2029
A goal on 85 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
John Omondi beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Jan 2029
David King'atua damages knee ligaments — 116 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 116 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces15 Jan 2029
Supporters organise against the Sofapaka board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market15 Jan 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad15 Jan 2029
A falling-out at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Sofapaka
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Omune was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Sofapaka are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
Duncan Otieno gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Duncan Otieno is on it.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
Japheth Lihanda is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Boardroom15 Jan 2029
Nobody arrives at Sofapaka until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Sofapaka this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Dec 2028
Clifton Miheso damages knee ligaments — 46 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 46 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
Pressure builds in the Sofapaka boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad11 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
Duncan Otieno has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Sofapaka will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Japheth Lihanda's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
Nobody arrives at Sofapaka until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Sofapaka this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
Douglas Ochoko knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Douglas Ochoko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
Erick Ongiri gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market11 Dec 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sofapaka know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces20 Nov 2028
Supporters organise against the Sofapaka board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market20 Nov 2028
Levis Ochieng has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sofapaka they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad20 Nov 2028
A falling-out at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Clifton Miheso falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Clifton Miheso has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Sofapaka will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Loan watch20 Nov 2028
The goals keep arriving from Douglas Ochoko’s exile
8 goals in 33 games at Shabana — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sofapaka updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Japheth Lihanda trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market20 Nov 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Eugene Wethuli signs something — a contract at Sofapaka or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market20 Nov 2028
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Sofapaka could get for him.
In brief
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Market
Wasi Ngala leaves for nothing
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Boardroom
The Sofapaka production line keeps running
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The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Kevin Ouma
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom13 Nov 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Sofapaka
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market13 Nov 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market13 Nov 2028
Wasi Ngala has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sofapaka they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad13 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Nov 2028
A row about effort at Sofapaka
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Clifton Miheso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Kevin Ouma pulls a muscle — 14 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Boardroom13 Nov 2028
Wages swallow 87% of the Sofapaka income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
Duncan Otieno has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Sofapaka will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom16 Oct 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Sofapaka
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market16 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sofapaka is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad16 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Sofapaka training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clifton Miheso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom16 Oct 2028
Wages eat 105% of everything Sofapaka earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
Duncan Otieno gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Duncan Otieno is on it.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
Japheth Lihanda is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Maqbul Ochola
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market16 Oct 2028
The Elvis Ochoro talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sofapaka know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Sofapaka
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Sofapaka is running low.
Match16 Sep 2028
0‑3 to Muranga Seal, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market18 Sep 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sofapaka is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad18 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sofapaka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match16 Sep 2028
The goals have deserted Sofapaka
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Sofapaka can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Clifton Miheso falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
Wages swallow 141% of the Sofapaka income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Elvis Ochoro
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Sep 2028
Martin Owusu has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sofapaka they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words exchanged at Sofapaka
David Nshimirimana and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad11 Sep 2028
Clifton Miheso falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match9 Sep 2028
0‑1 to Bidco United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Elvis Chemelil after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.