Pursuing your dream in a different country comes with struggles and challenges.
For 24-year-old Kenyan footballer Cedric Mucui, pursuing football career in Poland has come with the challenge of adapting to new language, extreme weather conditions in the Baltic region, new food, and the excitement of meeting new people.
The sacrifices he has made to overcome these challenges, the left winger and central attacking midfielder says, what motivate him to keep going. Mucui currently plays for Talent Warszawa, a club based in Polish capital city Warsaw, and plays in the lower-tier league V. liga.
“In Poland, I played for Wilga Garwolin in the (fourth-tier league) 4liga where I signed my first contract for a year but I later moved to my current club Talent Warszawa, where I hope to finish the rest of my first season in Poland,” the first born in a family of three siblings told Nation Sport on phone from Warsaw yesterday.
Born and raised in Kenya, Mucui’s love affair with football started at a young age, his parents providing him with the necessary support to achieve his dream. For the Manchester United diehard fan, every kick of the ball carried a promise of greatness.
When he was 16, he took the crucial step of enrolling in Nairobi-based football academy called True Talents of Africa.
At the time, he was a high school student at Nova Pioneer, where he was surrounded by players with similar talent and aspirations.
For him, balancing football and school wasn’t as hard because the True Talents of Africa programme is integrated with the school programme so he would train on weekends and holidays.
“When I joined True Talents of Africa, the goal was pursue opportunities in the United States of America, Romania, Poland, Spain, and in the United Kingdom. True Talents of Africa seemed the real deal, and knew how the process works. I knew the director in person, so my trust had been won either way,” Mucui, who idolises Brazilian star Neymar, says.
He is privileged to have attended trials sessions with 2009 Kenyan league champions Sofapaka, but he was not lucky to be signed up.
During his time at True Talents of Africa, he showcased his potential and won the admiration of his coaches who helped him polish his skills.
This was a big move for him because as some of his friends continued with their education journey to university level, he took the risk to pursue football.
“One of the key achievements at my time in True Talents of Africa was winning the (age-group) Ligi Ndogo East African Cup in 2022.
“As a product of True Talents Africa, the Academy will always hold a special place in my heart,” he says.
He was meant to head to the United States of America on a sports scholarship but his application for travel visa was turned down twice.
“I chose a different country to continue my dream of playing abroad and with the help of the academy and its partners I ended up in an academy and agency in Poland called Sportsmate which helped me market myself ability-wise to the Polish market, and to secure a team in 4liga Poland. Later, I moved to another team in 5liga in the winter,” he says.
In future, Mucui hopes to play for the senior men’s national football team Harambee Stars.
