French Ligue 2 side Stade de Reims have completed the signing of Harambee Stars defender Manzur Okwaro.
The player’s future has been a subject of speculation since last summer having previously been in the books of KCB FC before joining Sportpesa League newbies Nairobi United at the start of the season.
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The player had deals on the table but chose to go to Reims after an advice by Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy who shares the same agency with the utility man who can slot in midfield. He arrived in France last week and passed his medicals on Monday after which he inked a deal with the team.
Okwaro was one of the major breakthrough football stories in year 2025. After an eye-catching display at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egpyt in May, he made a bold leap into the senior team, where he featured for Kenya in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) where the country was eliminated by Madagascar.
A natural left centre-back, he occasionally featured at left-back for KCB and Nairobi United where he barely played despite being a regular at the national team.
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His rise has been meteoric. From the football nursery of St. Anthony’s Boys Kitale, to a spell at Rainbow FC, to eventually earning his break with KCB, where he walked straight into the first team after AFCON U-20.
He joins a Reims side who were relegated from Ligue One last season and are currently placed fifth on the Ligue 2 log with 32 points after 19 games; nine points behind leaders Troyes.
Okwaro joins another Kenyan Joseph Okumu who has been at Reims since July 2023 but is currently side-lined with an injury. This won’t be the first time he is arriving in Europe having previously attended a trial session with French side Nantes B.
Okwaro will be hoping he can be registered on time by the club so that he can be available for their next game against St-Etienne.
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