Katasi indebted to Oluoch for his meteoric rise

There are only two goalkeeper captains in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) in the 2020-2021 season.

James Saruni skippers Ulinzi Stars while the budding Humprey Katasi serves in the same capacity at Nzoia Sugar although on paper, Peter Gin is the designated captain but the long serving defensive midfielder is phobic of the armband even on match days.

At the start of the season, there were three goalkeeper captains but Samuel Odhiambo was dropped at Western Stima in the February transfer window.

Saruni commands over a decade long experience in the league while the 22- year old Katasi is considered green in the competition and the youngest captain in the league.

Katasi joined the sugar millers while a student at the St Anthony's Boys High School, Kitale after being scouted by the veteran tactician Vincent Sifuma who has since taken a break from the touchline.

The shot stopper rose through the ranks at the club and is currently the first choice ahead of the experienced Benson Mangala.

The former national U20, Rising Stars goalkeeper says his game and leadership skills have been on the rise courtesy of the inspiration from retired Kenyan international Boniface Oluoch. 

The Gor Mahia custodian who has won more than four league titles has been credited for nurturing young goalkeeping talents in Makongeni and beyond.

"He always encourages me and whenever we play against Gor, he always identifies and corrects my mistakes. I partially attribute the strides I have made in the game to him. I never expected to be named the captain at all due to my age but after the technical bench handed the responsibilities to me, he was among the people who called to congratulate me and to guide me," he revealed. 

Before the sporting activities were suspended, Nzoia were placed 12th with 19 points in the FKFPL table a performance which contrasts to that of the previous two seasons where they have been battling relegation.

Katasi says the improvement this season is as a result of the better remuneration from the management.

"We had been strong relegation candidates in the last two or three seasons but we were in good form before the announcement by the president. As players we decided to repay the management's decision to improve our terms this season by giving our best on the pitch," he added