Harambee Stars defender Erick Marcelo Ouma’s Polish club, Rakow Czechostowa, has secured qualification to the UEFA Conference League competition for the 2025/26 season.

Ouma achieved the feat as Rakow fell just short of clinching the Polish league title, finishing second to champions Lech Poznan who topped the season on 70 points.

The second-place finish assured the club of participation in the third tier of UEFA competitions, the Conference League.

The Kenyan and his team will, however, contend with a gruesome qualification process dictated by an association ranking from the football body organisers.

Rakow will begin their engagements from the second qualifying stage, where they will be among a pool of 18 domestic league runners-up paired against 29 winners from the first qualifying round and 9 teams eliminated from the Europa League first qualifying round.

The competition will proceed to the third qualifying round, which precedes the playoff stages, where the remaining 36 teams will be pooled in the final group phase. 

Ouma, who joined Rakow in January 2024, has been a vital cog of what has been an impressive second season in Poland.

Ouma’s season input

He averaged five assists, a goal and claimed three man-of-the-match accolades as Rakow finished just a point below the champions.

The slump was occasioned by the team’s loss in the penultimate league tie that left their fate out of their hands heading to the final round of games.

 The marauding wingman began his senior career at Gor Mahia FC before moving to Georgian side Kolkheti-1913 in January 2017, where he made 20 appearances. He was also the subject of a short-lived stint at Albania’s KS Kastriot, albeit never featuring for the club.

In 2018, he joined the emerging crop of Kenyan players to pass through the Swedish league following a move to top-tier side Vasalunds IF.

Ouma’s impressive performances earned him a move to AIK in January 2020, where he made 103 appearances, scoring 4 goals and providing 15 assists.