Africa-Press – Kenya. Kenya Police center-back, Eric Juma, is eager to lead the Kenyan Premier League club to a first title following their promotion a year ago.
Juma said the club looks destined for greater things especially after beefing up its ranks with top-notch talent during the off-season transfer window.
The law enforcers have been on a rampage, demolishing all opponents they have encountered in the pre-season friendlies played so far.
“Judging by our performance in the preseason friendlies, we are most definitely ready to charge for the title in the new season,” Juma said.
The former skipper of Kariobangi Sharks says settling in Police has been easy because they play like his old club.
“Coach Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo prefers to keep possession and that was also the culture of Kariobangi Sharks. That’s why it has been easy for me to settle down here,” Juma said.
The defender, who joined Police in January, said he initially experienced a hard time gelling with the rest of his teammates because it was the first time he had signed for a new club.
“I felt weird being around new players and a new environment. I was joining a new club after featuring for Kariobangi Sharks for 17 good years,” he said.
Juma jumped ship after a massive 17-year stint with Sharks, having joined them in 2006 during their nascent years in the lower tiers.Juma says he had to muster sufficient courage to disentangle himself from a past he had grown so much fond of.
And after finally managing to shake off a nagging injury he sustained during a league encounter mid-last year, Juma reckons he is now ready for a new experience.
“My decision to pen a deal with Kenya Police has nothing to do with financial incentives as many people might have thought. I simply yearn for a new challenge. I’m also keen to win the title Kenyan Premier League title, and perhaps, I might be able to do so at my new club,” he said.
Juma spent his formative years playing football on the dusty fields of the populous Kariobangi slums in Nairobi’s Eastlands while attending Kariobangi North Primary School.
He developed a keen interest in football while accompanying his elder brothers to competitive matches. During his first years at Sharks, he was deployed as a midfielder and in 2017, he helped Sharks get promoted to the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).
He, however, had to wait until 2018 for his cameo appearance in the league, coming on as a second-half substitute for Vincent Wasambo in their match against Posta Rangers at Camp Toyoyo.
Juma left Kariobangi Sharks with his head held high after guiding them to substantive titles as a captain.
He wore the armband when they silenced KPL regulars Ulinzi Stars in the final of the FKF SportPesa Shield as well as when they lifted the title in Tanzania to book a date with Everton as East Africa’s representative.
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