Shimanyula issues warning after Homeboyz maiden trophy
By Dennis Mabuka, July 3, 2023Kakamega Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula yesterday promised a clean sweep of trophies next season after his side defeated Tusker 1-0 to lift the Mozzart Bet FKF Cup.
The Kakamega-based outfit outwitted the Brewers in the final at Nyayo Stadium after Kevin Amwayi scored what turned out to be the winner in the 78th minute of the closely fought final.
In the process, Homeboyz clinched their first-ever silverware in the history of Kenyan football and earned a ticket to represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup.
Shimanyula has warned FKF Premier League rivals – including Kenyan giants Gor Mahiaand AFC Leopards – they will have it rough next season as his sidewill win all the major trophies on offer.
“This is just a start of what to expect from Homeboyz next season,” Shimanyula told People Sport,adding: “We have sent a clear warning to our rivals to forget winning any trophies because next season, it will belong toHomeboyz, we will win the league, and retain the FKF Cup.”
He continued: “Our success is based on our ambitions to rely on young players, we took our time and put trust in young upcoming players,and for some time now you can see most of the players in the squad,maybe apart from Robinson Kamura (who is the most experienced of all), are very young and hungry for success.
We also put our trust in a local coach, Patrick Odhiambo is a very good coach (much better than foreigners at Gor and AFC), we gave him everything we could, we gave him a free hand to do his job, I don’t like interfering with any coach’s work and Odhiambo can attest to this, and you can see now the fruits of a team pulling together in one direction.”
Shimanyula further confirmed the team will parade the FKF Cup trophy on Monday in Kakamega town before handing it over to the Kakamega governor Fernandez Baraza.
“We will parade the trophy to Kakamega people on Monday, the parade will snake through the major streets in Kakamega before we end up at the governor’s office,” he said adding: “The governor is very happy we made Kakamega and the entire Western community proud (for winning trophy) and he is eager to have a chat with the players.” While Homeboyz will represent Kenya in Confederation Cup, Gor Mahia will carry the flag in the Champions League after winning the league title with 70 points, one ahead of Tusker, who finished the season without silverware.