On 31 December 2025, while the whole world was focused on making final edits for their new year 2026 plans, Kenya’s talented midfielder Austin Odhiambo was perhaps just waiting for the moment things would be made official.
At around 2200 EAT, came the announcement.
“We won’t talk much. The pitch will be the scale and decider. Austin Odhiambo welcome to lighthouse castle,” Lebanon’s topflight side Nejmeh posted on their official social media platforms.
ALSO READ: Gor Mahia midfielder Austin Odhiambo completes move to Lebanon outfit Nejmeh SC
And just like that, the Kenya Premier League, now known as the SportPesa League, lost one of its most outstanding players and arguably its best player in a deal that left a lot to be desired about Kenyan football at the moment.
According to Opta Rankings released on 4 November 2025, the Lebanese Premier League is ranked in position 159 in the world with an overall rating of 59.2.
Guess which league is in position 160?
The SportPesa League where Austin is moving from with an overall rating of 59.0.
Of course, the top 5 leagues are the English Premier League (90.3), Bundesliga (84.6), Serie A (84.3), La Liga (83.8) and Ligue 1 (83.1) in that order.
Technically, the former AFC Leopards dangerman is moving to a league that is only 0.2 better on paper.
Austin Odhiambo
According to official documents, Austin will turn 25 years on 16 April and for a player who was crowned the Most Valuable Player in the 23/24 season after managing 12 goals and 13 assists could a better deal not be gotten?
For a player who finished as Kenya’s joint top scorer in the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) with 2 goals and is expected to be central in Harambee Stars’ preparations for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations to be jointly co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in 2027, could a better deal not be gotten?
For player who finished 2025 as the top scorer for the most decorated club in the country (9 goals for Gor Mahia), could a better deal not be gotten?
Poor agent networks?
“The football ecosystem is big and maybe you in the media need to relook at the agents handling our players. They seem to be quite a let-down. Talent alone doesn’t count when it’s time to move. You need agents with good networks,” read one reply on my post on X.
Austin’s deal follows a similar path to that of former Gor Mahia teammate Benson Omalla.
Omalla produced a phenomenal two campaigns for Gor, netting 26 goals in 22/23 season and 19 goals in 23/24 to clinch the Golden Boot, but could only secure a deal to Safa Sporting Club, another outfit in Lebanon.
While Omalla had been linked with a deal to Algeria that fell through due to the club’s misdemeanors, the two deals left a lot to ponder.
How is Lebanon the best market for our top Kenyan players?
Omalla’s stay in Lebanon ended up being short-lived. After signing in August 2024, he terminated his contract in January 2025 after reportedly not receiving pay for three months.
Better league?
Opta Rankings have shown that there is nothing to separate Lebanon’s league from the SportPesa League.
Aside from interacting with the ‘Kwaheri Kenya’ sign a couple of times while flying out of the country and perhaps receiving a better financial package, there is not much Austin is going to learn from Lebanon.
Methinks, a deal in North Africa or South Africa could have been a better option for Austin. Hell, even a deal in Tanzania would be a good deal for the former Ingwe academy graduate.
In Africa, the Botola Pro in Morocco is the top league on the continent and is 33rd in the world with a rating of 72.8.
Algeria, Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria complete the top 5 African leagues.
The Tanzania Premier League is 13th in Africa and 109 in the world while the SportPesa League is ranked in position 24.
The Tanzanian league has grown in leaps and bounds to the point that the majority of players called up to their national team are locals and they have ended up making history by qualifying out of the group stage for the first time at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 in Morocco.
ALSO READ: Feisal Salum’s thunderbolt sends Tanzania into the AFCON 2025 last 16
State of Kenyan football
A lot of questions may arise from Austin’s transfer, but it all boils down to the state of Kenyan football.
Kenyan players cannot pick and chose where to play because the state of our football is just not attractive enough.
There is no proper organization, teams fail to adhere to sponsor guidelines, know-it-all personnel, funding challenges and many more other unnecessary issues.
And so for a Kenyan player, a good offer may come only once in their entire career. That deal could come with an irresistible monetary offer that is enough to change plenty of lives that depend on the player.
The financial aspect alone is enough to make the player accept the deal which is what drives most Kenyan footballers.
In recent times, Kenyan players have not made any significant moves out of the country.
And if they have, they tend to struggle with the moves.
Current Harambee Stars sensation Ryan Ogam was the latest to move from Tusker to Austria’s topflight side Wolfsberger, but the player has only made one league appearance for the team in October since moving in September 2025.
For now, best wishes to Austin.