Kasarani is still sleeping, yet to him, the stadium’s breath is warm on the wind, carrying the promise of a battle where heroes are made and dreams are carved in green and red.
A fortnight ago, under a bruised Nairobi sky, in a stadium that throbbed like a giant drum, Ryan Ogam became more than a footballer.
In the 42nd minute, with one clean sweep of his left foot, he carved a goal out of the night’s breath — Harambee Stars 1, Morocco 0. The stands at Kasarani erupted; flags became wings, voices became rivers.
And somewhere in that roaring sea, Kenya’s dream of the CHAN 2025 quarter-finals began to stand upright, chest out, unafraid.
Ogam’s Moment of Fire
It wasn’t just a goal. It was the thud of destiny meeting leather, the hiss of a ball ripping through Morocco’s proud armour. At just 20 years old, Ogam walked into Harambee Stars’ long corridor of memory — a name now etched beside nights we will tell our children about.
“That was the best moment of my career,” he said, his voice still trembling with the echo of the crowd. He gave the goal away — to family, to friends, to Umoja’s dusty fields where he first learned to fight for a ball like it was life itself.
The match’s script twisted just before halftime — midfielder Chrispine Erambo, sent off, red card flaring like a warning. Ten Kenyans left to face Morocco’s full steel. But they stood — backs straight, eyes steady. “Nothing changed,” Ogam shrugged later. “We kept the same fire. The goal gave us wings.”
Breaking the Predictions
Two-time CHAN champions Morocco arrived as the hunters. The pundits whispered their names into victory columns before the game began. But in the Kenyan dressing room, belief was louder than fear. “A lot of people expected Morocco to win,” Ogam admitted.
“But we had our prophecy. We’ll face Zambia the same way — chasing the full three points.”
Bennie McCarthy — a man who once made nets sing for South Africa — stood at the touchline, watching Ogam as if reading the future. “With the right guidance, he could be the next Michael Olunga,” McCarthy said. “He’s explosive. Once he sharpens that right foot, he’ll be unstoppable.”
Ogam’s rise has been anything but a straight road. Fifteen goals in 13 matches in the FKF Premier League — then a knee injury that stole three months from him. Yet when the season closed, he was only two goals behind the Golden Boot winner. “After that injury, scoring the winner felt like God’s handwriting,” he smiled.
From Siaya to Kasarani’s Light
Born in Siaya, polished in Umoja, forged in Dagoretti High School’s muddy pitches — Ogam wore Kenya’s U-17 and U-20 jerseys before this leap to the senior squad.
He debuted in Zanzibar’s Mapinduzi Cup, scoring against Kilimanjaro Stars. From Rainbow FC to Tusker, with a brief detour in Dubai’s Elite Falcons, his path nearly crossed Algeria’s USM Alger — a move that dissolved before it began.
Eyes on Zambia
Next, Zambia.The same Kasarani grass, the same restless drums, the same sun that will paint his shadow long and sharp. For Kenya, it’s the match that could pry open the CHAN dream. For Ryan Ogam, it’s another page in a story written in sweat, faith, and the sudden, brilliant flash of a goal when the world is watching.
