Omutere leaves Sofapaka

Former Kenya U17 attacking midfielder Tevin Omutere is a free agent after parting ways with 2009 league champions Sofapaka. 

The youngster who was elevated to the Sofapaka senior team in December 2018 after impressing while attached to the youth team alleges that frustrations by the club triggered his decision to leave. He had joined the junior team while a student at the Ridgeways Boys Academy.

The rain began beating Omutere at the start of the 2019-2020 season after damaging his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) which nearly saw him sink into oblivion after the club failed to facilitate his operation which was delayed until October last year.

Initially, the rookie was set to go under the knife alongside his teammate Brian Magonya in December 2019 but according to the club, he was struck off the plan on doctor's advice and further, he was ineligible to benefit from the medical cover offered by the club as he fell under the 18- year age bracket.

After overcoming the injury, Omutere who was given the green light to resume training in January was handed a blow in his bid to cement a place in the senior team as he was jettisoned to the youth team against his wishes.

Exasperated with the delay in treatment and demotion to the junior team, the midfielder whose contract is set to expire in December 2022 says he has had enough of Sofapaka and will stay unattached until the summer window transfer.

"I have decided to leave Sofapaka even before my contract expires. It is unfortunate I lost more than a year of my career after the club failed to fast track my treatment which came after massive criticism by the media. Worse still, I was forced to train with the junior team even after recovering against my wishes and the details of the contract.

"After consultations with my family, I have decided to terminate my contract. In the meantime, I will be working on my fitness levels and hopefully, I will get a new club in the next transfer window," he narrated.

However, in a rejoinder, Sofapaka team manager Hillary Echesa defended the decision to jettison the rookie from the senior team, alleging that he had not met the fitness demands of the league to warrant a place in the team.

The former Kenyan international said the club will respect the desires of the player and furnish him with a release letter.

"He was cleared by the doctor the other day and there is no way he could have walked to the senior team. The injury was serious and thus we could not have rushed. The plan to have him boost his fitness with the junior team did not sit well with him and he requested to be released," he cleared the air.