Harambee Stars defender Joseph Okumu has joined an exclusive club of Kenyan players to have qualified for top European competition after sealing a Europa League slot.
Okumu’s IF Elfsborg qualified for the top European club competition on Sunday after a 1-1 draw against Sirius.
The draw occurred in the last away match for Okumu’s Swedish side where goals from Rasmus Alm in the 54th minute cancelled an opener from Stefano Vecchia of Sirius which was recorded in the seventh minute.
“Uefa Europa League, is that you? Yes, man,” the centre-back celebrated in a small post on his Facebook page.
“Last away match of the season, one point, and Uefa Europa League qualification.”
IF Elfsborg are second to Malmo after 29 matches where they have 50 points whereas the leaders have seven more while Hacken, who are third, have two fewer points.
At one point, the Kakamega High School Alumnae got injured, in a game IF Elfsborg beat hosts Kalmar FF 2-1 then, and was sidelined for three weeks in July.
The 23-year-old centre-back joined the Swedish side after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt.
Okumu played for Kenya U20 and U23 before he graduated into the senior side where he has been a very regular member. He rose to the occasion in Sebastien Migne's Afcon squad in Egypt and has never looked back.
He ended up playing a vital role in the African biennial tournament when Brian Mandela got injured during a pre-season training camp in France.
The youngster played in all three matches in Group C - the 2-0 loss to Algeria before helping the team to a 3-2 win against neighbours Tanzania and eventually losing 3-0 to Senegal.
Okumu joined Chemelil Sugar after completing his high school education from Kakamega High School. He remained at the club for only six months before venturing outside the country where he joined Free State Stars of South Africa.
He left for the USA and joined AFC Ann Arbor in 2018 before leaving for his former club Real Monarchs.
Victor Wanyama, Dennis Oliech and McDonald Mariga qualified for the Champions League with different clubs during their times.
Eric Ouma and Okumu are the current Kenyan high profile players to be doing trade in Europe after the exit of Wanyama who joined Montreal Impact from Tottenham in March.
Arnold Origi, who was recalled for the Afcon qualifiers against Comoros in November, left Finnish side HIFK Fotboll recently.
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