When Patrick Gakumba orchestrated Meddie Kagere’s transfer from Kenyan giants Gor Mahia to Tanzania champions Simba SC in June, he sealed his status as became very popular as Rwanda’s leading football agent. He is also known as the man behind Jacques Tuyisenge’s move to Gor Mahia from Police FC in early 2016 and the transfer of current APR skipper, midfielder Jean Baptiste ‘Miggy’ Mugiraneza from Tanzania’s Azam FC to the Kenyan powerhouse in 2016. Gakumba, who is commonly referred to as ‘Super Manager’, has negotiated over 30 transfers, including players and coaches – in Rwanda and outside the country. “Good players need equally good agents to strike great deals for them,” Gakumba told Saturday Sportin a recent exclusive interview. Born on April 1, 1984 in Dar es Salaam Tanzania, Gakumba the third child in a family of five, is a bachelor’s degree holder in Education, from the University of Dar es Salaam. He is a licensed football agent, businessman, and at times a musician. While the 34-year-old started getting involved with transfers of players over a decade ago, it was not until 2014 that he earned his football agent license from Munich in Germany. “I first ventured into the trade of players’ transfers a little over ten years ago, at the time I was also a head-teacher at Eden Secondary School in Tanzania. I joined this business because I believed players deserved better and they needed a middleman to arrange transfers and negotiate contracts for them,” he explained. He further revealed that while he was still a teacher, he was only able to manage two transfers; one for a certain Fred Comasa Louise from Azam FC in Tanzania to Bandari FC in Kenya and Thomas Emmanuel Ulimwengu’s move from Simba SC to TP Mazemba of DR Congo in 2011. Since then, he went on to sell players to and from different countries such as; Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, DR Congo, Morocco, Sweden, and Belgium. “I found some other agents in this business, like Belgium-based Amavubi legend Désiré Mbonabucya, but what raised my profile top is the ability negotiate cross-border deals for players. I can successfully sell a player from a West African nation to Europe without me being in any of the two places physically.” The most famous transfer deal he engineered remains Uganda’s Farouk Miya move from Vipers SC in Ugandan Premier League to ten-time Belgium champions Standard Liege in January 2016, on a reported fee of about US$400,000. Gakumba has since been approached by different clubs to find them players, which he says has provided him with the opportunity to meet many influential and most famous people in African football such as TP Mazembe owner Moise Katumbi. “To be good in what we do, you need to be passionate about the sport, be willing to learn and make strong networks. You need to be conversant with marketing, sponsorships, law and finances,” he noted. “Having a quality agent means that a player will get paid what they are worth and be on a team that acknowledges their contribution to their success. My biggest transfers are those of Meddie Kegere and Farouk Miya,” he said, underlining that they are both forwards with triple ‘BBB’ qualities. Patrick Gakumba, a.k.a Super Manager, dreams of selling an African player to Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United in his career. File photo. Gakumba describes triple ‘BBB’ quality as: Brain, Balance and Ball control. As an agent sometimes your players may become flops; some of the main reasons that he gives for this are injuries and indiscipline. “The modern agent often acts with parental concern for footballers, since many of your players come from different backgrounds, it requires to equip them with a few skills of how to deal with career despite the unbelievable amounts of money thrown at them,” he said In football, as with other sports, sometimes a player can get excited after earning huge sums of money and forget what he was paid for. He believes that a good agent has to help a player to plan for a successful career path, support them in their finances management, avoid the usual vices such as gambling and alcohol, and cultivate an image that is appealing to commercial brands. ‘Craziest career dream’ After conquering the country, he is keen on taking on the region and gaining influence on the continent as he seeks to be Africa’s biggest agent. Gakumba, who comprehends that in life everything is possible, dreams of selling a player to one of the world’s top clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Manchester United. Advice to local football When it comes to local football, Gakumba advises players and clubs to have agents that can assist them professionally with decent contracts and good players. “Football cannot be complete without agents, we play a big role as middlemen. In most of our clubs, players don’t have agents representing their interests, which is a serious problem. “There is a need for domestic footballers to have professional managers or agents who are well-connected in the circles of international football.” He argued that agents play an important role in looking after a player’s interests like finding a new club, negotiating fees, and making sure the player gets the best contrac possiblet. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
