Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga is nearing a deal to acquire a Swedish football club to support his academy talents.
Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga is set to own a club in Sweden marking a significant expansion of his football career beyond the pitch.
Olunga, who currently plays for the Qatar Stars League club Al Duhail, is reportedly finalizing a deal to acquire AFC Eskilstuna, a third-tier Swedish team struggling with financial difficulties.
The club which counts Kenyan players Henry Meja and Frank Odhiambo among its ranks has faced a challenging financial situation.
The Michael Olunga Football Academy (MOFA) is poised to intervene injecting millions of dollars to settle the club’s outstanding debts.
“Olunga’s involvement with AFC Eskilstuna is seen as an essential step for the development of his academy’s players, providing them with opportunities to gain international exposure,” Swedish publication Eskilstuna-Kuriren reported.
The connection to AFC Eskilstuna was facilitated by the club’s former sporting director Mikael Larsson who is expected to return to the club once Olunga’s takeover is complete.
This development comes at a crucial time for AFC Eskilstuna, which recently lost access to municipal facilities due to a debt exceeding SEK 500,000 (approximately Ksh 6.4 million).
Additionally, the club faces a repayment demand of SEK 3.3 million (about Ksh 41 million) from the Sweden’s Agency for Growth.
This debt is tied to short-term support funds distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic which the club is now required to return.
AFC Eskilstuna has a rich history of transformation.
Originally known as FC Café Opera and later Väsby United, the club underwent several changes before relocating to Eskilstuna in 2012, rebranding as AFC United, and eventually settling on the name AFC Eskilstuna in 2016.
They compete in Ettan, the third-highest division in Swedish football, and play their home games at Tunavallen, located approximately 110 kilometers west of Stockholm.
