NAIROBI, Kenya, January 21, 2026 – Harambee Stars defender Manzur Okwaro has completed his move to French side Stade Reims.
In a statement, the Ligue 2 club announced that the youngster will join on loan, with an obligation to buy.
“Stade de Reims is pleased to announce the arrival of Manzur Okwaro on loan with an option to buy, a versatile defender from Kenya. At 19 years old, Manzur Okwaro already has 10 caps for the Kenyan national team,” the club said in a statement on its website.
Furthermore, Okwaro will begin his stint in the club’s reserve side as he looks to eventually worm his way into the first team.
Okwaro joins the French side from Kenya Premier League newbies Nairobi United who he signed for at the beginning of the 2025/26 season.
The deal marks another meteoric rise for the youngster who came to prominence with his performances for Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) on the left side of the defence.
He then played a pivotal role in the national under 20 team’s continental campaign at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations in May where he partnered Amos Wanjala in defence.
Okwaro then earned his debut call-up to the senior side, making Benni McCarthy’s team for the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) on home soil.
At the continental competition, the former Rainbow FC player was deployed as a defensive midfielder, a position in which he took to as a fish to water.
Having signed for Naibois, Okwaro has not had much opportunity to strut his stuff in the Kenya Premier League.
However, his virtuoso show at CHAN seem to have done more than enough to earn him his big break.
At Reims, he will link up with fellow countryman, Joseph Okumu, who joined the French side in July 2023.
The team were relegated at the end of last season after finishing 16th in top flight.
This season, they lie fifth in the second tier, having amassed nine wins, five draws and five losses.
