Eric 'Marcelo' Ouma at the EMOF Super Eight launch, March 2026. Photo: EMOF via Pulse Sports
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Marcelo Ouma: barefoot in Kibera, a move to Poland, an Achilles tear and a Harambee Stars return.
Eric "Marcelo" Ouma, 29, is one of the best-known footballers to come out of Kibera. "I stayed in Kibera for over 19 years," he told Pulse Sports last year. He played barefoot for Future FC in Kibera as a boy, before a scholarship to Kakamega School in 2011 recommended by Nicholas Muyoti.
The career
Gor Mahia in 2016; Kolkheti Poti in Georgia in 2017; KS Kastrioti in Albania in 2018; Vasalund and then AIK in Sweden from 2020, where he made 104 appearances with four goals and 15 assists; and Raków Częstochowa in Poland from January 2024, for a reported €700,000. In January 2025 Raków rejected a €1.7 million bid from Kazakhstan's FK Astana, valuing him at €2.5 million.
The injury
He ruptured an Achilles tendon in training on 28 August 2025 and missed the whole 2025/26 season, doing his rehabilitation in Nairobi. In April he told Pulse there was a "90 – 100% chance" he would stay in Poland, but that he would be "starting from zero".
The return
In June 2026 he was recalled to Harambee Stars for the friendlies against Lesotho after about nine months out, saying he wanted to be "the role model" for the squad's debutants.
Giving back
His foundation ran the first EMOF Super Eight inter-university tournament from 30 May to 1 June 2026, hosted by Kenyatta University with KCA, Strathmore, St Paul's, AIU, KeMU, MKU and Zetech, with Sh100,000 for the winners and backing from former Stars midfielder Anthony "Teddy" Akumu.
Others who left Kibera for the top
Jesse Were grew up in Kibra, went to Toi Primary, played for Kibera Black Stars in the regional league, and became the first player to score 100 goals for Zesco United in Zambia, winning four league titles there; he was at Kenya Police FC in early 2025. Nicholas Omondi started at Black Stars, captained Kenya's under-20s and has played for Kariobangi Sharks, Gor Mahia and Ulinzi Stars. Tusker's Chris Erambo started at Kibera Saints.
Sources: Pulse Sports, Jan 2025, Pulse Sports, Apr 2026, Pulse Sports, Mar 2026, Pulse Sports, Jun 2026, Capital FM, 2020, Pulse Sports, Dec 2023
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
Eric “Marcelo” Ouma, 29, is one of the best-known footballers to come out of Kibera. “I stayed in Kibera for over 19 years,” he told Pulse Sports last year. He played barefoot for Future FC in Kibera as a boy, before a scholarship to Kakamega School in 2011 recommended by Nicholas Muyoti.
The career
Gor Mahia in 2016; Kolkheti Poti in Georgia in 2017; KS Kastrioti in Albania in 2018; Vasalund and then AIK in Sweden from 2020, where he made 104 appearances with four goals and 15 assists; and Raków Częstochowa in Poland from January 2024, for a reported €700,000. In January 2025 Raków rejected a €1.7 million bid from Kazakhstan’s FK Astana, valuing him at €2.5 million.
The injury
He ruptured an Achilles tendon in training on 28 August 2025 and missed the whole 2025/26 season, doing his rehabilitation in Nairobi. In April he told Pulse there was a “90–100% chance” he would stay in Poland, but that he would be “starting from zero”.
The return
In June 2026 he was recalled to Harambee Stars for the friendlies against Lesotho after about nine months out, saying he wanted to be “the role model” for the squad’s debutants.
Giving back
His foundation ran the first EMOF Super Eight inter-university tournament from 30 May to 1 June 2026, hosted by Kenyatta University with KCA, Strathmore, St Paul’s, AIU, KeMU, MKU and Zetech, with Sh100,000 for the winners and backing from former Stars midfielder Anthony “Teddy” Akumu.
Others who left Kibera for the top
Jesse Were grew up in Kibra, went to Toi Primary, played for Kibera Black Stars in the regional league, and became the first player to score 100 goals for Zesco United in Zambia, winning four league titles there; he was at Kenya Police FC in early 2025. Nicholas Omondi started at Black Stars, captained Kenya’s under-20s and has played for Kariobangi Sharks, Gor Mahia and Ulinzi Stars. Tusker’s Chris Erambo started at Kibera Saints.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
