EXCLUSIVE: Kalekwa vows Sofapaka will not lose Kenyan Premier League status to Naivas FC
Batoto ba Mungu will face a moment of truth when they face National Super League (NSL) outfit Naivas FC in the FKFPL/NSL promotion/relegation playoffs to determine who will play in the top flight next season.
Sofapaka found themselves in the playoffs following their 16th-place finish in the league, two spots above the relegation slot. They finished the season with 36 points to hand themselves a lifeline while Muhoroni Youth and Nzoia Sugar were axed to the lower division.
Meanwhile, Naivas finished third in NSL with 76 points from 38 matches and thus missed out on automatic promotion which was taken by eventual league winners Mara Sugar, who garnered 84 points and Mathare United, who came second with 82.
Sofapaka and Naivas will now face off in the first leg on Saturday, 6 July 2024, before they clash again in the return leg on Sunday, 14 July 2024.
Sofapaka not afraid of facing Naivas
While admitting that Sofapaka should have done better and not have been among teams fighting to avoid relegation, Kalekwa believes they will not have a problem sorting out Naivas and keeping their spot in the league.
“Sofapaka belongs to the FKF Premier League and that is where they will play in the new season, there is no doubt about it, we know we don’t deserve to be among the teams fighting to avoid relegation but this season we started off badly but we still have time to redeem ourselves and come back a stronger side,” Kalekwa told Flashscore.
“We will do our job against Naivas (it is not that I am underrating them), but the fact remains we will stay up after the playoffs.
"I want to assure our fans that Sofapaka will not go anywhere or get relegated, we will play in the top-flight for as long as we can.”
Since earning promotion in 2009, a season they set a record in by becoming the first team to date to win the league title on their debut campaign, Sofapaka have never been relegated. They have enjoyed 15 uninterrupted years of league action, and won other domestic titles in the process.
Kalekwa has insisted he is not losing any sleep as Sofapaka prepares to face Naivas. “Do you think I can lose sleep or get afraid because of playing against Naivas?” Kalekwa posed the question.
“That is a small matter that my team is going to handle, we will overcome it soon, by the end of the return leg, we will be the ones celebrating and focusing on the new season.”
Sofapaka endured a difficult 2023/24 season
However, Kalekwa admitted that since gaining promotion, this was their worst season ever. “It was a difficult campaign, we found ourselves at the bottom of the table from the onset, and it proved tough to get out of it, I don’t want to remember this season, I want it to end quickly so we can plan for the new one in August,” added Kalekwa.
Having beefed up their squad and hired the services of Burundian coach Francis Haringingo, Sofapaka registered their worst start, losing the first five matches in the league.
While Kalekwa continued to keep the faith with Haringingo, the results continued to get worse and eventually, the coach was shown the exit door after only seven matches, which has seen Sofapaka pick one win and lose six.
Following Haringingo’s exit, Kalekwa went for former international Ezekiel Akwana to replace him, and the results never got any better as the team continued to blow hot and cold. It was at this juncture that Kalekwa sought the services of former Harambee Stars coach Zedekiah 'Zico' Otieno, who took charge as the head coach on an interim basis, with Akwana dropping to the assistant role.
Otieno brought some life into Sofapaka, winning his first game 5-2 against Nzoia Sugar at Sudi Stadium and pulling three straight wins to haul the club to safety.
“I brought in Otieno because I knew he had the required experience to help us, I knew he was the right person to help keep Sofapaka in the league, now we have two matches (against Naivas) and I am sure he will do his work,” said Kalekwa.
“Our struggles came about because of the poor start, we did not achieve what we had set from the opening matches and with games flying, we couldn’t understand what was happening until the table started to indicate Sofapaka in the relegation zone, this is when we had to wake up and tried to salvage the situation.”
Sofapaka confident of staying in the league
Speaking after their final fixture against Nzoia Sugar which they won 3-1 on June 23rd, coach Otieno told Flashcore: “From the beginning, we were fighting not to be relegated and I said it before that Sofapaka will not be relegated, we got the three points, and now we head into the playoff with the same objective.
“We want to be ready for the playoffs, I will not change the strategy for the playoffs, and will keep our same style of the game, our main objective is that we should not lose focus, we must remain in the league, we have another step to cover, and we will prepare enough to make sure we stay up.”
Apart from the league title, Sofapaka also clinched the Kenya Super Cup (twice), President’s Cup (three times), Mashujaa Cup (once), Shield Cup (twice) and Jamhuri Cup (once).
They featured in the CAF Champions League in 2010 but failed to go past the preliminary round, and made three appearances in the Confederation Cup – 2008 when they got disqualified, 2010 when they reached the playoffs and in 2015 when they reached the preliminary round.
