There are very few one-club men in the Kenyan football scene or at least those who can boast of having spent more than three-quarters of the best years of their career at one club.Dennis Ombeva has seen all the best (and worst) years of his footballing career at Vihiga United, a station at which he now feels he sees the end days. Nicknamed Gaucho from his early days in the midfield at Rush FC, Ombeva, who has now spent more than a decade at United, playing both full-back positions, says it’s time.##NAJAVA_MECA_8702607##And he has solid reasons too. ‘’It’s clear the team has struggled financially over the past few seasons and even the players putting in the work right now are only doing it out of sheer sacrifice. It’s commendable, to see the team compete the way it does with very depleted finances,’’ says Ombeva. United have not lost any of their last three matches; a home draw against title chasers Naivas, a slim dispatching of SamWest Black Boots and a recent barren draw away to Migori Youth are indicative of a side not yet ready to throw in the towel amidst the financial chaos in its house.Football Kenya Federation pledges to settle referee dues and introduce key reformsOmbeva though, has seen it all and despite being available for the selection team’s 2024/25 roster, opted out of not featuring at all. ‘’I haven’t played at all this season. It has been tough to balance work, family and football when the latter doesn’t honour its end of the bargain like it used to. At some point you have to decide on the most important things for you,’’ continues the 28-year-old who first started with United in the FKF Division One. At a personal level, he has indeed achieved what he at least set out to do at the beginning of his career; playing in the Kenyan top flight.Blow for Ulinzi Stars as striker is ruled out of action for two monthsFrom playing in the local youth tournaments in Vihiga to battling it out with the big boys in the premiership, Ombeva takes pride- even if a little.‘’I wouldn’t say I have achieved much but not every day aspiring footballers make it to the premier league,’’ says Ombeva.‘’We went from Division One to the premier league playing one season per disunion; it was an incredible run. For that I am proud.’’United first earned its stripes by climbing up for the 2018 Premier League season.##NAJAVA_MECA_8702439##Albeit short-lived, they would soon battle their way back up and show up top again for the 2021 season after edging Kisumu All-Stars in the playoffs.Their third time trying to earn a spot at the top would not have them so lucky as Kenya Police FC were just beginning their ascent.The law enforcers would condemn United to second-tier football. They are yet to recover from this. It all boils down to finances. Players have families to take care of and when one dedicates plenty of their hours to the sport, a lot rides on their careers expectation-wise. ‘’If for example, we would get the kind of support we had before, things would be different,’’ he adds.All set for the Mozzart Bet Cup draw as 64 teams confirm participationUnlike their female counterparts Vihiga Queens who still enjoy considerable financial support from the county government, United can only dream of a time when they were kings; when they were employees of the county government.The Edward Manoah-coached side stays in the 16th position on the National Super League (NSL) standings, just a few points above the drop zone.##NAJAVA_MECA_8702533##A blend of a youthful and experienced lot (a majority from Ombeva’s era) the side’s recent run shows one determined to keep their head above water, but their loyal soldiers are dropping one at a time.
