Kakamega Homeboyz striker Moses Shumah (right) dribbles past Al Hilal's Osamah Alshareef during the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup first round match on August 19, 2023 at Nyayo Stadium.
Once written off in the race for the Golden Boot award in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League, Kakamega Homeboyz hotshot Moses Shumah has hit a rich vein of form, hauling himself back into contention for the award.
The unassuming striker’s dream of clinching the Golden Boot in the 2024/25 Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) appeared all but extinguished following his slow start to the campaign.
While he had scored just three goals in the first 10 matches of the season, Tusker FC’s sidelined striker, Ryan Ogam, had already established himself as the early frontrunner with an impressive 10 goals from the same number of matches.
Fast forward to today, Shumah, 22, is a strong contender for the Golden Boot award, as he shares the tally for most goals in the league this season with Ogam on 15 goals.
Reflecting on his steady rise in the scorers’ chart, the Laiser Hill Academy alumnus says he is driven by the desire to earn a place in the Harambee Stars squad that will play in the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan), to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania from August 2 to 30.
He says avoiding pressure by focusing on self-improvement rather than competing with others, choosing not to set a specific goal target, strong teamwork, and dedicating more hours for individual training, the striker notes, have contributed to his impressive performance.
“I hope to be in the Harambee Stars squad for Chan. It is another reason why I am working very hard,” says Shumah.
This season marks his best performance in the FKF-PL since he joined Homeboyz in November 2022. During last season’s campaign, Shumah, who was not the team’s main striker, scored seven goals.
“It (scoring 15 goals in the FKF-PL) is something that has never happened to me. I’m very grateful to God, my teammates, and fans for the support they have accorded me,” says the forward, adding that were he competing with the other players, who had surged ahead of him including Ogam, he might have already thrown in the towel in the Golden Boot race.
“I was not competing against him (Ogam) but myself. When I scored my first goal of the season (in Homeboyz’s fifth match of the campaign against KCB), he (Ogam) had already scored a couple of goals, and even by the time I hit seven goals, he was already on 15 goals. I would have given up if I were competing against him,” Shumah, who turned out for Mombasa Elite, said.
To achieve his full potential, Shumah says he has set himself a target of clinching the Golden Boot but not a specific number of goals that he wants to score.
Even now that the Homeboyz’s striker has emerged as a strong contender for the Golden Boot since Ogam has yet to recover fully, he maintains that he is not fixated on hitting a particular number of goals but just on finishing top in the race.
“I’m always optimistic about performing well but I never set a target of the specific goals that I want to score. With that, I’m never under any pressure therefore I exploit myself fully,” says the striker.
After scoring 15 goals at the end of the first leg, Ogam set an ambitious target of doubling his tally to reach 30 by the end of the season.
However, fate had other plans, as the 20-year-old forward picked a knee injury that saw him undergo a meniscus tear surgery on April 1.
While Ogam started rehabilitation in the gym, it is not yet clear when he could make a return to the team.
To remain sharp in front of the goal, Shumah says he has been putting in extra effort by dedicating one to two additional hours of individual training, four days a week.
During these sessions, the Laiser Hill Academy alumnus focuses on improving areas he feels need work, such as ball control and strength. “To be top and remain consistent you must train extra. I train individually for at least two hours four times a week,” he says.
His teammates have been instrumental in his performance by constantly motivating him to give his best, he says.
“They’ve been pushing me a lot. They always encourage me not to leave the pitch without scoring and make an effort to find me with the ball. They really want me to win the Golden Boot,” said Shumah.
Thanks to his impressive form, Homeboyz are sixth on the FKF-PL standings with 41 points from 27 matches. Tusker tops the standings with 51 points from the same number of matches.
Shumah made a bright national team debut after he scored in Kenya’s 1-0 win over Pakistan in the four-nation tournament in Mauritius in June 2023.
