From left: Emmanuel Osoro of Talanta, Tusker striker Ryan Ogam and Moses Shumah of Kakamega Homeboyz, who moved abroad.
Kenyan football clubs earned $970,000 (about Sh125.3 million) from the sale of players abroad last year, a report by the world football governing body Fifa has revealed.
The annual report, Fifa Global Transfer Report 2025, which was released this Wednesday, showed that the clubs did not spend any money on signing players from foreign leagues to the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL).
This is curious given the high number of foreigners featuring in the FKF-PL.
The report further revealed that Kenyan men’s football clubs trail neighbours Uganda and Tanzania in revenue generation from the sale of players abroad.
In women’s football, Kenyan clubs neither spent nor earned any money from international transfers last year, even though several players moved in and out of the country during that period.
The report monitors players’ annual movements across borders globally, covering one calendar year from January 1 to December 31.”
Gor Mahia's Paul Ochuoga (right) and Nairobi United's Ovella Ochieng' during their Football Kenya Federation Premier League match at Dandora Stadium on December 21, 2025.
While 45 players transferred from Kenya last year, not all the movements contributed to the Sh125.3 million in revenue, as some joined foreign clubs as free agents.
The revenue generated by the Kenyan clubs showed an 18.4 per cent increase compared to 2024, when the clubs earned $316,000 (Sh40.8 million).
In 2024, 38 players moved abroad from Kenya compared to 21 in 2023. Kenyan clubs did not generate any income from outgoing transfers in 2023.
According to the 2025 report, Tanzania was the preferred destination for players featuring in the Kenyan league.
Tanzanian clubs made nine signings from Kenya, followed by Uganda at eight.
Moving abroad
Harambee Stars strikers Ryan Ogam, Moses Shumah, and Emanuel Osoro, midfielder Mohammed Bajaber, and defender Alphonse Omija are some of the players who moved abroad from the FKF-PL last year.
Shumah and Osoro, who topped last season’s scorers’ chart with 17 and 16 goals respectively, joined Zambian top side Power Dynamos from Kakamega Homeboyz and FC Talanta respectively, while Ogam left Tusker for Austrian Bundesliga club Wolfsberger AC.
Omija signed for Tunisian giants Etoile Sportive du Sahel from Gor Mahia, while Bajaber joined Tanzanian giants Simba Sports Club.
Harambee Stars attacking midfielder Mohammed Bajaber in training with Tanzania's Simba Sports Club on August 11th, 2025, in Egypt.
Reports indicate that Shumah’s signing fee was over Sh3 million, Omija joined Sahel for around $50,000 (Sh6.4 million) while Bajaber's move was valued at Sh1 million.
The Fifa report does not include the cost of the signings.
Forty-nine players moved to Kenyan clubs from abroad, representing a 36.1 per cent increase from last year. Uganda and Tanzania accounted for the highest number of the new arrivals with 10 players each, followed by Rwanda (six) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (five).
Ugandan clubs generated the highest amount of revenue of the East African countries last year at $1.64 million (Sh212 million) from 47 transfers, followed by Tanzania at $1.52 million (Sh196.4 million) from 71 players.
Out of the three countries, only Tanzanian clubs spent money on signing foreign talent, with the Fifa report indicating $1.99 (Sh257.2 million) spent.
It is not surprising that, currently, Tanzanian clubs are the most successful in Africa compared to clubs from Kenya and Uganda.
Dar es Salaam-based Simba Sports Club and Young Africans (Yanga) have been regular contenders in the CAF interclub competitions, progressing deep into the tournament.
In women’s football, seven players joined Kenyan clubs from abroad, with Uganda and Tanzania accounting for three players each and one from Albania. Nine players left Kenya to join leagues abroad, with Tanzania the most preferred destination, attracting four of them.
According to the report, the number of international transfers in men’s professional football globally reached new heights in 2025, with a total of 24,558.
This is an increase of more than seven per cent compared to 2024 and represents the highest number of transfers ever recorded.
The spending on transfers reached $13.08 billion (Sh1.69 trillion), an increase of more than 50 per cent compared to 2024. It marks the first time that clubs spent more than $10 billion (Sh1.29 trillion) on international transfers in a single year.
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