Johanna Omolo: Kocaelispor terminates contract of Kenya midfielder

Kenya international midfielder Johanna Omolo is without a club after Turkish side Kocaelispor terminated his contract on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old Harambee Star is among the players whose contracts have been terminated after the club was relegated to the third-tier division.

“The contract of our professional football player Johanna Ochieng Omolo, which will expire on May 31, 2022, has been mutually terminated,” the club confirmed on their social media pages.

Apart from Omolo, another player, whose contract was terminated, is Berkay Tolga Dabanli.

“The contract of our professional football player, Berkay Tolga Dabanlı, has been terminated by our club with the use of the right to relegation clause in his contract,” the statement continued.

“We would like to thank Berkay for his efforts and wish him success in his future career.”

Born in Nairobi, Omolo has played club football in Kenya, Belgium, and Luxembourg for Coast Stars, Vise, Fola Esch, Beerschot, Lommel United, and Antwerp. After playing for Cercle Brugge, he signed for Turkish club BB Erzurumspor in January 2021.

He received his first call-up to the Kenyan national team in September 2010, making his debut for his country in 2011.

Omolo represented the national team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt and scored a goal against Tanzania, which helped the team win 3-2, but the result was Kenya could not leave the group.

Kocaelispor were among the four teams relegated after finishing in position 16 of the 19-team league. They managed 44 points from 36 matches. They were relegated alongside Bursaspor, Menemenspor and Balıkesirspor.