Seventeen-year-old Western Stima striker, Benson Omala, who is a student at Kisumu Day High School, has been named the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Player of the Month for the month of December 2019.
The Form Four student becomes the youngest player to ever win the award.
Omala was impressive in December, scoring five goals and also becoming the first Western Stima player to ever score a hat trick in a league match.
“I’d love to thank my coach for believing and nurturing me and I’m glad I repaid his faith by showing my brilliance and scoring goals which is a striker’s primary target,” Omala after when he received the award.
“I’d like to score more goals and be among the top scorers at the end of the season. My ambitions are to play for the national team. I already scored two goals for the Under 20 national team in Cecafa and I’m glad I was called up in the senior team despite not making the final cut,” he added.
And the youngster, who hopes to move abroad in the near future, had a very special message for Harambee Star head coach, Francis Kimanzi.
“I want to tell Kimanzi that he will see more of me,” Omala said.
The striker also said it is not difficult for him to balance education and football.
“If you are in class read like you will never play football and if you are in a football pitch play like you’ll never be in class. My target short term is to play two or three years in the local league then go to Europe,” he said.
His coach at Kisumu Day School, Andrew Aroka, lauded Western Stima for believing in Omala and giving him the chance to play in the big league.
“I’ve handled a lot of young players but very few compare to this boy. They have been good in their own right but Omala is just a complete striker with very huge potential,” Aroka said.
Kisumu Day High School Principal Daniel Mwaturo urged the youngster to pursue both football and education.
“Talent and good brains are God-given and each of them should be nurtured. The boy only trains with the school team and only plays Western Stima’s home games, except during holidays. He can really do wonders when fully dedicated to training with the team and playing all games. But I’m glad he is also doing well in academics and could get the myriad scholarships abroad,” said the principal.
