SCHOOLS: Nabungolo, man with the Midas touch does it again

St Joseph Boys Chief Principal Cosmas Nabungolo. [Gilbert Kimutai, Standard]

Last year's boys football champions St Anthony's Kitale were for the first time in 10 years, missing in action during the Rift Valley Secondary School regional championship this year.

For the past decade, St Anthony's had made the regional title theirs. This year though, when names of representatives from different counties were being called out, last year's winners were not present.

Debutants St Joseph Boys Kitale did the unthinkable. They eliminated their fancied rivals at the county games.

St Joseph, under the stewardship of Chief Principal Cosmas Nabungolo, edged out St Anthony during the Trans Nzoia County school championship.

The emergence of St Joseph marks the return of Nabungolo. The soft-spoken teacher appears to hold the football ‘magic’ after leading St Anthony's to both national and East Africa titles.

After winning this year’s Rift Valley title, Nabungolo vowed to stop at nothing in his quest of lifting the coveted title.

In an interview with Standard Sports, Nabungolo said his eyes are set on the national title, adding that there's nothing difficult for St Joseph Boys.

His team beat Laiser Hill Academy 2-0 in the regional final played in Bomet on July 20.

Having moved to the school last year, the seasoned administrator started assembling a new team after they lost at the semifinal to St Anthony's in last year's county finals.

The loss stung him. He was not going to go that route again. With military precision, and keen interest, he began to assemble a new team.

In his mind, he was focusing on bigger things. But first, he needed to know how he'd stop St Anthony's from calling shots at will. His quest bore fruits when he defeated the heavyweights 2-0 in the finals. 

That memorable victory consequently ended St Anthony's 13-year unbeaten run at the county level.

Despite Nabungolo’s endless difficulties in assembling the team, the experienced tactician has had a magnetic effect to attract young players who have had excellent good runs in the championships.

Nabungolo has been able to create a solid defence by deploying tough defence, attacking midfield and striking power, which has provided solidity and identity.

He started his journey in Kapenguria Boys High school, where he won the football title two times.

He then joined St Anthony's in 2000 until 2017, where he led the school to four national titles and one East Africa trophy.

In 2018, he moved to St Peter's Boys High in Mumias and his under 16 years’ team reached finals of the national competition in 2019.

Last year, he was transferred to St Joseph Boys as the Chief Principal.