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I’m here to win, coach Robert Matano declares as he takes over at KCB

Robert Matano

Coach Robert Matano reacts on the touchline during a past FKF Premier League match between Sofapaka and Mathare United at Kenya Police Sacco Stadium on September 21, 2024.

Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group

By  Victor Otieno

Reporter

NMG Sport

What you need to know:

  • Robert Matano is the most successful football coach locally, having won four FKF Premier League titles.
  • Despite KCB’s strong financial muscles, the side is yet to win the league title since it was established in 1993.

Can veteran coach Robert Matano break KCB Football Club’s jinx and deliver the team’s first Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) title? 

This is the big question after the 61-year-old tactician was on Friday unveiled as the bankers’ new coach on a one-year contract, which is open to extension. 

Coach John Njogu who is also Member of County Assembly for Gitothua Ward in Kiambu has also joined KCB’s technical bench as a trainer. Njogu has previously coached several clubs, including Murang’a Seal, Thika United, Mount Kenya University Football Club, Ruiru Hot Stars, and Kiambu AllStars. 

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Read: Kenya Police FC lift title after 11 years of waiting

Matano, nicknamed “The Lion”, is the most successful football coach locally, having won four FKF-PL titles with Sofapaka FC (2009) and Tusker FC (2012, 2020, and in 2021). An impressive record and wealth of experience that the CAF ‘A’ License coach wields impressed KCB’s patron Azu Ogolla.

“Today marks a significant milestone for KCB Football Club. In Robert Matano, we welcome a highly accomplished coach with an outstanding track record, proven leadership, and a winning mentality. His wealth of experience and championship pedigree make him the ideal candidate to guide the team into a new era of success,” Ogolla observed on Friday during Matano’s unveiling in Nairobi.

Robert Matano

KCB Football Club’s patron Azu Ogola introduces the club’s new coach Robert Matano in Nairobi on June 27, 2025.

Photo credit: Pool

Matano declared that he is at the club to win titles.

“This is a club with immense potential, a strong backing, and a clear vision for the future. I am here to win, to compete, and to build a team that reflects the strength and ambition of the KCB brand,” the coach said.

Despite KCB’s strong financial muscles, the side is yet to win the FKF-PL title since it was established in 1993. The bankers have parted ways with coaches after failing to clinch the top-flight league title. In the just concluded 2024/25 FKF-PL season, KCB fired coach Patrick Odhiambo for the same reason. Under interim coach Samuel Koko, KCB finished the season ninth with 42 points. Kenya Police Football Club clinched the title with 65 points. 

Read: Rise of the Ultras: AFC, Gor fan groups driving culture locally

KCB came close to clinching their maiden FKF-PL title in the 2020/21 season, finishing second with 62 points, just three behind champions Tusker. Matano joins the club barely two months after parting ways with Tanzanian Premier League side Fountain Gate. 

Matano led Sofapaka to the FKF-PL title in their debut season. His CV as a player is not particularly rich. He played for Abeingo FC and Nakuru Youth Olympic team in the late 70s, Nairobi’s Hakati Sportiff, and Mombasa’s Kenatco FC as a central defender, before joining AFC Leopards in the early 80s. 

His contemporaries are Josphat ‘Controller’ Murila, Mickey ‘T9’ Weche, J.J Masiga, and Wilberforce Mulamba ‘Maradona.’