It is Aldrine Kibet's moment

Without a doubt, Kenya U20 star Aldrine Kibet is living his dream of being a professional footballer.

To many football fans, Kibet’s rise from the dusty Poror village, Eldama Ravine, in Baringo County to stardom might seem like a movie trailer, only that in this case his tale is real.

From leaving an indelible imprint at the 2023 Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) National Term Two games with St Anthony’s Boys Kitale, Solidarity Boys, to leading both Kenya U20 and U18 teams to Cecafa finals before debuting at the 2023 U20 Afcon, the Nastic Sports Academy, (Spain) product has established himself as one of the most exciting talents in Kenya at the moment.

But it is his sparkling performance at the 2023 national games in Kakamega, where he won the Most Valuable Player award, that seems to have opened the door for the former Nakuru Youth Sports Academy midfielder.

He scored a staggering 25 goals and provided 27 assists to propel Solidarity Boys to record their sixth national title at Bukhungu Stadium. This consequently earned him a scholarship at Nastic Sports Academy alongside his Rising Stars and St Anthony’s captain Amos Wanjala, and teammate Alvin Kasavuli. The trio is among the players who thrived under the defunct Talanta Hela programme.

And based on the latest developments regarding his career, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder, who has so far scored nine goals for the junior national teams across all competitions, is destined for greatness.

Although Kibet, an ardent Arsenal fan who adores Lionel Messi, completed his move to Celta Vigo from Gimnàstic de Tarragona, details about the deal remain scanty after the Spanish side postponed the announcement due to the club’s friendly match against Portuguese outfit Famalicao.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that he has signed a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, and he will start his journey with Celta Vigo B team. Kibet’s father, Christopher Komen, and mother, Irine Kwalia, graced the signing ceremony on Tuesday.

While Kibet’s deal is expected to be officially announced this Wednesday, Wanjala is set to join newly promoted La Liga side Elche in the coming few weeks. Wanjala signed for Spanish lower-tier side Athletic Club Torrellano in August 2024 after impressing at Nastic Academy. Just like Kibet, the towering centre half is also expected to begin his Elche career with the reserve team. 

Kibet and Wanjala are set to follow in the footsteps of current FKF deputy president McDonald Mariga (Real Sociedad) and Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga (Girona), who are so far the only Kenyan players to feature in Spain’s top flight. 

But having noticed Kibet’s talent during the 2023 national school games, David Kenga, the United States-based scout and agent who works with Nastic Sports Academy, is not surprised by his breakthrough.

Kenga is the East Africa region head scout and agent for the DPF Group agency that represents Aldrine Kibet, Amos Wanjala, Alvin Kasavuli, Enock Lemayian (St Anthony’s Boys Kitale), and other African players.

“I’m really proud of Aldrine Kibet, but honestly, I’m not surprised by his breakthrough. It feels great to see these players reach these heights,” said Kenga, a Youth A Coaching License holder.

“I have been close to their families, and we have worked and sacrificed a lot in the last two years to get here so that they can both free their families financially. And we are all about academics and sports, and for them to achieve both is fantastic. The issue with most of our players back home is lack of education.”

He continued: “At Nastic, we look for players that are interested in joining our programmes, but we have the self-sponsored on partial scholarships, and then we have players like Aldrine and Amos that we think will take the shortest time to be pros, and we sign them on full scholarships and represent them in our DPF Group agency. For Aldrine, Amos, Kasavuli, and others, we spent like 80,000 euros a year for their education and sports and sent them out for trials to be seen by other clubs.”