KAKAMEGA, Kenya, Dec 5- Burundi will be without red hot former Sofapaka striker Abdul Razak Fiston for their second CECAFA Senior Challenge Group B match against Ethiopia on Thursday with the forward leaving camp to travel to Angola to negotiate for a new club.
Fiston who played for Burundi in their 0-0 draw against Uganda yesterday and was one of the best performers for his side travelled from Kakamega immediately after the match to Nairobi where he is scheduled to catch a flight to Luanda for negotiations.
“We are going for talks with a club there because they had expressed interest in signing me. It is just for a day then I return. Hopefully I will sign but at the moment nothing is concrete. I return tentatively on Thursday so I will not be in for the game,” Fiston told Capital Sports.
The striker has been released by Sundowns after returning from a loan spell with Bloemfontein Celtic and was not even registered in their squad for the new season. Fiston travelled to Kenya with the Burundi squad as he continued his search for a new club.
“The joy of a player always is to play and it is not different with me. I need to get playing time and that is why I am in search for a new club. I enjoyed my time at Bloem and picked up good form scoring a number of goals because I got time to play,” the forward noted.
The Burundian forward joined Sundowns in June 2015 in a deal worth in excess of Sh25mn from Batoto ba Mungu who cited his prowess during the 2013 CECAFA Senior Challenge in Kenya and signed him the following season.
If he moves to Angola, Sofapaka will be entitled to 20pc of his transfer fee, another windfall for the Elly Kalekwa owned club.
“There are several clubs which have expressed interest in signing me; some in South Africa, others in Algeria.. so pretty soon I will be on the pitch playing,” Fiston said while laughing off a suggestion for him to return to Kenya.
The goal-poacher was a crowd favorite alongside teammate Shassir Nahimana as Burundi played Uganda at the Bukhungu Stadium on Monday and he hopes he will be back in time for the South Sudan match next Monday to help his side fight for a semi-final slot.
“I felt very good playing in Kenya again and the fans coming behind us. We played really well and hopefully we can challenge to get to the semis. Uganda is a very tough team and getting a point was a plus,” Fiston said.
His coach Olivier Niyungeko heaped praise on the impact Fiston had on the team alongside other experienced players in Pierre Kwizera and Laudit Mavugo.
“We have very many young players in the team and the three experienced players have done a lot to motivate them and give them confidence. I am very happy for Fiston and what he has brought into the team,” the coach said.
Burundi’s target in the Challenge Cup is to get to the final and Niyungeko is confident with the performance they had against Uganda, an appearance in the final will be a real target.