By Aines Wangila, Vihiga
In the high-stakes world of Kenyan football, where coaches jostle for fame and headlines often hail big-name tacticians, one man continues to shape the future of the game quietly, one dusty pitch at a time.
Coach Francis Muhambe, a seasoned Kiswahili and History teacher from Emmabwi village in Vihiga County, may not be a household name, yet, but his impact reverberates far beyond the rural schools he has worked with.
A CAF C licensed coach, Muhambe is the unsung hero behind some of the most promising football talents gracing Kenya’s top clubs today.
Since bursting onto the school football scene in 2018 with Olbolosat Secondary School, where he led the team to the Nyandarua County and Central Region Championships, and finished as national runners-up, Muhambe has made winning a habit.
That same year, he moved to Ebwali Secondary School and steered them to victory in the Luanda CDF Championship, planting the seeds for a football revolution in Vihiga.
By 2019, Ebwali had risen to prominence as Western Region champions and third-best nationally at the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) finals. But for Muhambe, the medals have always been secondary to the lives transformed.
“Our role as coaches is to identify kids with potential, nurture them and develop them into professional players or at least play at an elite stage,” Muhambe told The Standard in an exclusive interview.
And develop them he has. Under his watch, players like Peter Thiong’o, Austin Odongo, Derrick Oketch, and Tom Oserio found pathways to clubs such as Shabana FC and Bandari FC. His influence continues to ripple through teams like Homeboyz, Naivas, Nairobi United, Mombasa Elite, and Vihiga United.
Despite the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coach Muhambe pressed on. In 2021, he guided Ebwali to win the FKF County League and the Onguso Cup. The following year, he added the KSSSA National title to his growing collection, while also mentoring Madira Girls to lift the Onguso Cup.
Then came 2023, a landmark year. Muhambe led Madira Girls to the East African Games in Rwanda, oversaw Chapa Dimba Western Region wins for both Ebwali and Madira, and helped Madira Girls earn promotion to the Kenya Women Premier League (KWPL) after thrashing Kibera Starlets 4–1 in a playoff showdown.
And the streak hasn’t stopped. In 2024 and 2025, his teams bagged multiple County Championships, Chapa Dimba victories, and most recently, a Zone B title in the FKF National Women’s Division One League, clinching yet another promotion to the KWPL.
Muhambe’s work is a masterclass in grassroots football development—his hallmark lies not in celebrity status but in building structured, competitive teams from scratch, even in schools with limited resources.
“Coach Franco brought the best out of me. He gave me hope to play, never gave up on me and others just like me to make sure that one day playing football will make sense—and for sure, it does,” says Austin Odongo, now a standout midfielder at Shabana FC.
Among his rising female stars are Jane Hato, Leah Valary Nekesa, Charity Midewa, Brenda Awuor, and Kimberly Akinyi, many of whom now represent Kenya at U17 and U20 National Team levels.
Muhambe’s story is also one of humility. His resume is filled with stints at often overlooked institutions—Ebwali Secondary, Madira Girls, Olbolosat Secondary—but these are the very places where his magic happens. With minimal facilities, he turns raw talent into national assets.
Despite his track record, national recognition continues to evade him, a glaring oversight in a country desperate for football revival at the grassroots.
In a landscape often dominated by noise and hype, Coach Francis Muhambe remains a silent architect of dreams, a builder of character, and a relentless promoter of untapped potential.
