Sofapaka head coach Ken Odhiambo is frustrated by the inability to use his newly acquired players because of the transfer embargo that was slapped on the team by the world football governing body, FIFA.The 2009 champions are currently serving a transfer ban for failing to pay their former midfielder Justin Mico. The Rwandese attacking midfielder moved to FIFA seeking compensation for breach of contract and he was rewarded handsomely with Sofapaka set to pay him millions before the embargo is lifted.Batoto ba Mungu have been very active during the off-season transfer window, signing new players to replace those who either ditched the club or were released after the conclusion of the 2020-2021 season. Sofapaka’s issues are largely financial with the majority of the players exiting due to nonpayment of salaries.🎙️ The boss’s press briefing ahead of @KCBFootball fixture◾Mathare defeat ◾Bankers fixture ◾New signings availability◾️Team News 👇Get all the details from the manager’s briefing on https://t.co/v8gmpWGS3N@betikaKe@OyandoRonny #BatotoBaMungu pic.twitter.com/HnYrLzPT6P— Sofapaka FC (@FC_Sofapaka) October 22, 2021 They have had to work with a lean squad of 14 players in the opening three matches of the season and Odhiambo says it has been very frustrating and believes that it proved costly in their last two fixtures against Nzoia Sugar and Mathare United where they managed to pick one point.“It’s a frustrating situation because we can’t get to use some of our new players who are so key to us. The absence of the new recruits has cost us the last two fixtures and we only hope it’s sorted out soon” he told the club website.Reflecting on the midweek loss to Mathare, Odhiambo said the loss was largely self-inflicted as they made mistakes which the opponents capitalized on.“We had a poor start into the game and our opponents took full advantage of our mistakes. Mathare loss was an easy one, I feel the players didn’t follow instructions and that cost us the match,” he added.⚽ A beautiful volley by Lawrence Juma🤝🏿 A cleansheet by Kevin Omondi👊🏿 A solid team performance4⃣ Collected four points from our opponents🔙 Last time outing vs @KCBFootball@betikaKe@OyandoRonny#BatotoBaMungu pic.twitter.com/aLCQMAXTFE— Sofapaka FC (@FC_Sofapaka) October 22, 2021 Despite being short of manpower, the former Bandari coach is upbeat heading into Sunday’s league match against KCB.“It’s a normal match just as the rest, we’ve always had a close and exciting encounter between us and I expect the same come Sunday. We respect our opponents but we equally want to get something out of the match and the aim is clear that’s the three points,” he added.
