Kisumu All Stars Coach Recalls How Booze Almost Killed Him

Kisumu All Stars assistant coach Francis Oduor. [Photo: Courtesy]
Kisumu All Stars assistant coach Francis Oduor has finally opened up on how he escaped death when alcohol addiction took a toll on him.

Popularly known as Killer, the former Harambee Stars defender has narrated to Opera News how he spent a whopping 10 years struggling to balance football and the booze-a thing he says greatly affected his talent and productivity for clubs and the country at large.

While regretting the time wasted, the former Wazito FC coach says his ordeal was as a result of frustrations associated with the game. He says most footballers find it difficult to stay afloat when their form drops-like was his case.

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Kisumu All Stars team. [Photo: Courtesy]
As one of the highest-scoring defenders of his time, and being the first Kenyan to have ever come so close to playing for an English side, Portsmouth, Killer was a big name! He could not imagine dropping to play for non-league clubs or failing to feature for Kenya for lack of form. His drinking frequency was increased by this.

“I was a big name during my prime but things later changed when my form went down. It worsened when my last club (Sher Karuturi) was disbanded and I was rendered jobless. So, unfortunately, the only way I could cover my frustrations was booze,” Oduor told Opera News.

Interestingly, Oduor started off as a goalkeeper before shifting to become a defender. He would later play for AFC Leopards, Gor Mahia and the national team Harambee Stars. As an assistant coach, he now works under veteran tactician Henry Omino at the newly-promoted Kisumu All-Stars.

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