Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga’s foundation academy, MOFA FC, narrowly missed out on promotion to the country’s second tier after falling to former National Super League (NSL) side Fortune Sacco FC.It would have been a projected first for the side, which is less than half a decade old. Coach Kassim Otieno’s youthful side faltered when it mattered most, allowing the more experienced Fortune Sacco to score three goals.##NAJAVA_MECA_8142502##Centre-back Vincent Wanga, who has himself traversed the top three tiers of Kenyan football, was brought into the side during the mid-season to stabilize the back four owing to his experience. Playing all but one match and keeping 8 clean sheets while doing so, he says the side can definitely bounce back better in the coming season.”It was just a match where the side that took their chances well won; that’s what happened against Fortune Sacco. We both had equal chances during the match, and they buried theirs while we did not. Credit to them, they deserved the win, and we wish them the best in the NSL,” says the man who once featured in the Premiership with Kisumu All Stars.MOFA ended the 2023/24 FKF Division One season placed second on the log behind leaders AP’s Bomet. The latter earned automatic promotion to the second tier alongside their Zone A counterparts, 3k FC from Embu. The second-placed teams in the respective divisions, MOFA and Fortune Sacco, had to battle it out in a playoff contest for the only remaining promotion slot.Word has been rife in the grapevine that Coach Kassim Otieno was relieved of his duties by the ambitious side MOFA, but this is something Wanga reveals they will only come to know when the team resumes training in preparation for the next season.”We were given a break at the end of the season and haven’t received any communication regarding any changes to the team from the management. Such matters, we only get direction from the leaders, and for now, we are adhering to the rest recommended as we await,” he continues.Wanga was brought in from AP’s Bomet, where he was an anchorman for the Police side but deployed at the back by his new side for guidance of the younger upcoming lads at the club. The management, he says, had encouraging words after their promotion hopes were dashed, and as such, people should prepare for an entirely different approach from MOFA in the coming season.”Most of the team members are young, so the loss was hard to take, but the leadership in the team talked to us after the game, encouraged us to keep hopes up for next season because there were plenty of lessons to take from that one match. We will do better in the coming season,” he adds.Wanga has previously been on the books of Chemelil Sugar, Kisumu All Stars, and AP’s Bomet. His side, under the patronage of Harambee Stars skipper Michael Olunga, plays its home matches at the Raila Odinga Stadium in Homabay.
