Sofapaka FC have completed the transfer of Elli Asieche from their Premier League (KPL) rivals, Kariobangi Sharks FC on a two-year deal.

Asieche, who had a year left on his contract with Sharks, returns to the side that handed him his KPL debut as a budding teenager in 2011.

Speaking to Sofapaka Portal , the 26 year-old was delighted at the conclusion of the move adding he is eyeing the league title with the 2017 league runners-up; Batoto Ba Mungu.

“It feels great to be back where it all started and it was me who requested Sharks to leave,” said the soft-spoken midfielder.

“I believe am equal to the task because I return with more experience. I want to work hard to play more matches than I did the last time I was here and most importantly, win the 2018 league title,” he added.

He joins a growing list of players that have left Sharks in the December/January transfer window including; Calvin Odongo, Osborne Monday and 2017 KPL top scorer; Masoud Juma who joined South African side Cape Town City FC.

At Sofapaka, he will join with skipper Hillary Echesa, Ali Feni and Kennedy Oduor.

International players Kepha Aswani and Stephen Waruru are overly eager to steer their new club Sofapaka to high heights in the 2018 Kenyan Premier League (KPL).

Speaking at different times, the two strikers averred that Sofapaka will be the team to beat in the new season which kicks off next month.

“I’m here at Batoto Ba Mungu’s camp to plunder goals and God willing, I will help the club recapture the league title which has been elusive since 2009,” said Aswani who has signed a two-year contract with Sofapaka.

The prolific striker who is still fresh from guiding Harambee Stars to the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup title in Kenya last month called on fellow striking partners Umaru Kasumba, Ali Feni and Waruru to give him maximum support to realize his dream.

“Marksmanship does not come easy and I will need unswerving support from my teammates to score. I understand they also have the pedigree to score and if that happens, we’ll all be doing it for the sake of our beloved club Sofapaka,” quipped Aswani.

On the flip side, Aswani who had had previous stints with AFC Leopards and Thika United hinted that his agent was keen on helping him secure paid ranks in Zambia possibly next June.

“Let me be honest to say that a number of Zambian clubs are after my signature. Before making such a move, I want to help Sofapaka to make a dream start in the 2018 KPL season,.

In the meantime, Waruru who is a man of a few words stated that he is at Sofapaka to help the team score as many goals as possible in the KPL.

“I won’t say much and I’m a firm believer that actions speak louder than words. What I can say is that I love scoring many goals and this is what has brought me at Sofapaka,” said Waruru who was a revelation for Ulinzi Stars for close to a decade.

Sofapaka FC new signing Stephen Waruru is relishing the challenge of supporting his club to the SportPesa Premier League (SPL) title winners next season.

“I am up to the task, I like what Sam Ssimbwa is doing at the club. That is the coach I want to work with as I continue to grow career-wise. I want to play football and help this great Club win the SPL next year,” Waruru shared the reason for joining Batoto Ba Mungu.

The former Ulinzi Stars striker says resigning from the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) to concentrate on his football career is a decision that had lingered in his mind for some time.

“Looking back, I think it was timely and the best decision that I have made. For a while now, all I wanted was to be free,” Waruru said.

On snubbing the 11-time champions Tusker FC, the forward revealed that it was an easy decision to make since Sofapaka is more ambitious.

Sofapaka’s club’s performance last season was superb, given that they were almost being relegated but they turned the tides to take the number 2 slot. Therefore challenging for the title next season can be achieved,” he added.

Having scored 11 goals for the Soldiers who finished the season seventh with 48 points, Waruru not only wants to win the title with Sofapaka but also bag the Golden Boot Award.

The 2017 runners-up are set to have a deadly combination upfront with top scorer Umaru Kasumba, Kenyan internationals Kepha Aswani and Waruru set to lead their attack.

Sofapaka Ugandan tactician Sam Ssimbwa is overly elated after being voted the 2017 Kenyan Coach Of The Year during the Sports Journalists of Kenya (SJAK) Gala awards ceremony held at the National Museums of Kenya on December 18, 2017.

Ssimbwa who is on Christmas and New Year vacation in Uganda said the honors were a result of hard work and selflessness, adding that it would not have come without the support of his fellow technical bench officials and the Sofapaka management.

“Honestly being declared the SPL 2017 coach was one of the best things to have happened to me in my coaching career. It’s an ideal Christmas gift which gives me the drive to continue giving my best but first of all I must give kudos to all and sundry at Sofapaka for supporting me towards this success,” said Ssimbwa.

The SJAK honour bestowed on Ssimbwa, at least in the eyes of many, was deserved after he turned around the fortunes of Sofapaka in the SPL 2017 season in which they to wound up runners-up against all expectations.

Ssimbwa was voted in absentia by a panel of top Kenyan sports journalists, beating other top-notch nominees including Sammy ‘Pamzo” Omollo of Posta Rangers, William Muluya of Kariobangi Sharks and Mike Mururi of Kakamega Homeboyz.

Ssimbwa’s midas touch was attributed to the quality new signings he recommended to Sofapaka handlers during the 2017 KPL mini transfer window, among them Ugandan duo of Ali Feni and Umaru Kasumba, Hillary Echesa, Timothy Luda and Morven Otinya.

Stephen Waruru has signed a two-year contract with the Sportspesa 2017 KPL runners up team Sofapaka having overlooked an earlier opportunity to join 11-time champions Tusker FC following his departure from Ulinzi Stars.

“I think it is a pretty good move for me. I had several offers after I left Ulinzi and I picked on Sofapaka because of the platform the club offers. They are ambitious and want to win trophies next season and I think their targets align with mine,” Waruru told Sofapaka portal.

“Its been eight-great years at Ulinzi, and I felt it was time to seek to greener pastures.” Waruru, Both Tusker and Sofapaka approached me but the latter was the right one for me to join even as I look forward to win more team and individual titles.

During the past eight years Ulinzi stars has won the league once, on his maiden year in 2010, the KPL Top 8 Cup in 2011 and clinch the Golden Boot Award in 2012, then finishing third in 2017.

“They have been the best years in my life. With Ulinzi I have seen the world. I have traveled to many different countries both playing football and in my career as a soldier and I don’t regret. I want to thank all the players I have played with in my career there because they have played a part in shaping my career,” the former Thika United man added.

Waruru saw his goal scoring tally stall this season after starting on a high scoring 11 goals by mid-season, but the same waned down with reduction in playing time.

“With more playing time, definitely, I would have scored more, but that’s life and that is how things go sometimes. I hope to have a good season with Sofapaka next year and my targets remain the same; to score and help the team win the league,” the lithe-sized baby-faced assassin noted.

Sofapaka FC is proud of you for the contribution you made for the team by becoming CECAFA champions. Congratulations Harambee Stars

Christmas has come early for Sofapaka FC after the team signed yet another big name in form of Kariobangi Sharks offensive midfielder Elly Esieche.

Independent sources within Sofapaka intimated that Esieche who was rumored to have also attracted interest from various clubs in Tanzania will join Sofapaka once he secures release from his erstwhile employer.

“I wish to confirm that Esieche has signed for Sofapaka and is only waiting for his release by Kariobangi Sharks before joining Batoto Ba Mungu. We are confident he will add value to Sofapaka in the team’s quest to win the 2018 SportPesa Premier League (SPL) title,” said the source.

Esieche, a highly disciplined player who has had a commanding role in Kariobangi Sharks midfield in SPL, has reportedly signed a two-year contract with Batoto Ba Mungu

Sofapaka’s signing of Esieche comes hot on the heels of the team’s acquisitions of Nakumatt and Harambee Stars utility striker Kepha Aswani and Stephen Waruru from Ulinzi Stars.

The recent signing of quality players by Sofapaka is a deliberate move by the club’s Founder and President Elly Mboni Kalekwa to ensure that the team wins the 2018 KPL.

Kalekwa, a Congolese business magnate, has in the recent past urged Sofapaka players to work hard to ensure that the club ranks amongst the best in Kenya and Africa as a whole.

It’s now official. Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side Nakumatt’s scoring sensation Kepha Aswani has joined Sofapaka ahead of the 2018 season.

Aswani becomes the second high profile player in the KPL to join Sofapaka after the club acquired the services of former Ulinzi Stars striker Stephen Waruru two weeks ago.

The signing of Aswani, who plundered 13 goals for Nakumatt in the 2017 KPL, has already elicited joy amongst the Sofapaka faithful who are eager to see the team reclaim the league title they last won in 2009.

“Aswani jameni ni moto wa kuotea mbali. Wapinzani wetu KPL 2018 wako taabani ikiwa atashirikiana na Kasumba ambaye pia ni mkali,”

(Aswani is a very lethal striker. Sofapaka’s opponents in 2018 are in for real trouble if he will partner Kasumba (Umaru) who is equally dangerous) remarked Swaleh Omar, a diehard Sofapaka fan who resides in Komarock Estate in Nairobi’s Eastlands

In the meantime, Nakumatt Secretary General Albert Wesonga has described Aswani’s departure as a big loss to the team that made its maiden appearance in the KPL in 2018.

“He (Aswani) was a vital cog in Nakumatt’s attacking line and we will dearly miss him. We wish him well at his new club,” said Wesonga who is on Christmas and New Year vacation at hi rural home.

Aswani has had an illustrious football and has previously turned out for Al Nasr Salalah of Oman, Thika United and AFC Leopards.

It seems Sofapaka are determined to clinch the 2018 SportPesa Premier League (SPL) by hook and crook going by the club’s marquee signings ahead of the new season.

Barely three weeks after Sofapaka roped in talismanic Ulinzi Stars FC striker Stephen Waruru, Batoto Ba Mungu fans will be happy to learn that the club is widening its scope in player signings.

Grapevine has it that Sofapaka is closing in on industrious Kariobangi Sharks defensive midfielder Elly Esieche as well as Nakumatt’s goal-poacher Kefa Aswani who is currently on duty with the national team Harambee Stars in the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup Championships.

Sofapaka official cemented the allegations that the Esieche and Aswani, who have been in the team’s radar for the last six months, could be destined to Batoto Ba Mungu ranks.

“What you have heard is also what I’ve heard and I believe that talks between the two players and the Sofapaka management will commence sooner rather than later.  I believe they have the potential to take Sofapaka to great heights,” said the source.

During the Cecafa Championships that was scheduled to be concluded on December 17, Aswani proved a gem for Harambee Stars in all the matches he played despite failure to score a goal.

On his part, Esieche has established himself as a pillar in Kariobangi’s Sharks’ rear amidst other reports that Mbeya City FC of Tanzania and Singida United of Zanzibar have been monitoring his performance with a view to signing him next year.

Should Aswani put pen to paper at Sofapaka, he is bound to form one of the most potent striking forces in the SPL and it would be interesting to observe how he will partner with either Umaru Kasumba, Ali Feni or Ezekiel Okare in the 2018 KPL season