Robert Matano, Sofapaka’s new head coach, has explained why the team struggled in their first matches in the 2024/2025 Football Kenya Federation Premier League season.
Sofapaka’s season began with back-to-back 1-0 defeats against Tusker and FC Talanta. They drew 1-1 with Mathare United to collect their first point but then fell to another 1-0 loss to Bandari in their fourth match of the season.
However, the team has shown improvement in their last four matches. They drew 1-1 with Nairobi City Stars, defeated Shabana 1-0 and earned a 2-0 win over Kakamega Homeboyz which moved them from 18th to 11th in the standings.
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They also managed a 1-1 draw in their last match with Kenya Police FC, stretching the unbeaten streak to four matches as they moved to ninth on the log on 9 points.
In an interview, Matano explained that the team’s poor performance in the first few matches was partly due to the club’s FIFA ban, which prevented them from making new signings.
He further suggested that they should have given a walkover in their opening match because they were not ready for the league.
“You know, based on the first matches, I did not have a team. For the first game, we were supposed to give a walkover because we were banned,” Matano told Sportspesa Blog.
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“We could not recruit due to the FIFA ban, so we dropped all the players who had played in last year’s league.”
He added that even after recruiting new players, they were not prepared to play in the early matches, which contributed to the team’s poor performance.
“We recruited new players, but they were not ready for the first few matches, which is why we performed poorly,” Matano explained.
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Now, Matano is optimistic about the team’s progress. He believes Sofapaka will soon reach a level of stability where they can compete with other Premier League teams.
“Like any other team, we need progression and stability, and things are going well so that we can be stable enough to compete. But as of now, the team is jelling,” Matano reiterated.
Sofapaka will have a long break before their next match on the 24th against Mara Sugar, followed by a clash with Murang’a Seal.
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