Football: Mwanahalima can’t wait for Swedish task

Mwanahalima Adam is close to securing her dream move of joining the paid ranks abroad but this transfer could have happened two years ago.

The Harambee Starlets’ forward is headed to Sweden where she will have trials with top division side Djurgårdens IF with a view to sealing a permanent deal but by now, she could be already in Europe had it not been for some rogue agent.

Adam was lured into signing a two-year contract in 2017 by an agent whose deals were questionable only to realise she had been duped, meaning she had to wait for the time to elapse before sigining another deal.

“The deals that were coming my way, from the said manager, were not worth it. I had to be patient for the contract to elapse.

I am, however, grateful that the timing has been right as I am heading to a club that is really interested in my skills,” said the former Mombasa Olympic and Thika Queens player.

Adam, who took the country by storm in 2015 when she made her debut for the senior women’s national team, was approached by scouts from Sweden last December after lifting the Cecafa Senior Challenge trophy with Starlets, having also watched her during the Olympics qualifiers where Kenya beat Ghana and Malawi before falling to Zambia.

“I know I am headed there for another week of trials, but I am confident of signing the deal.

The talks we had when the agent came to Kenya last month gave me the assurance that I fit the bill,” added the 2016 most promising girl at the Sports Personality of the Year (SOYA) awards. 

Adam made her Starlets debut while still in form three, scoring Kenya’s sole goal in one all draw against Tanzania in a friendly match. She had made the squad for an Under 17 competition in 2013 while in form one but Ebola fears saw the team not compete.

She would form part of the 2016 Africa Women’s Cup of Nation (AWCON) qualifiers as Kenya drew 3-3 on aggregate against Algeria to qualify on away goal rule. 

However, she missed the actual competition as she sat her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams. Since then, she has been a mainstay in the team.

“We had a trial session in Kenya a month ago and we were impressed with her. We were impressed with some other girls too and I know sooner or later you’ll see them make moves too,” said the Swedish-based agent.