A place in history beckons once more for Tusker FC as the Brewers step onto the grand stage of the FKF MozzartBet Cup final on Sunday evening at the Kwale Stadium, where they will lock horns with fellow Premier League side Kenya Police FC.
Three years after the last appearance in the final, when a narrow defeat to Kakamega Homeboyz left hearts aching and dreams deferred, Tusker return with renewed purpose and another chance to reach for silverware.
The journey to the 2026 final has been long, the battles fierce, but the destination now lies within touching distance.
The Brewers are chasing their first Cup triumph in a decade, since that unforgettable evening in 2016 when Allan Wanga’s decisive strike against Ulinzi Stars at Nyayo National Stadium sealed a historic domestic double.
Memories of that glory still linger, but Sunday presents an opportunity to create new ones.
As the sun sets over Kwale, Tusker will be seeking more than just a trophy. Victory would deliver a fourth FKF Cup crown and carve yet another golden chapter into the rich tapestry of a club whose story has been woven through ambition, resilience and success.
Ahead of Sunday’s final, we run down our path to the final.
R64: Mwea United 2-3 Tusker FC
Tusker faced a potential banana skin, with an opening round against Division II outfit Mwea United at the Wang’uru Stadium. On paper, this looked like an easy match up; a Fourth Division club, up against a Premier League giant.
However, on the pitch, the work was cut out. At the end of the 90, a pair of headers from Thomas Omolle and a sumptuous Cliff Oruko freekick delivered a ticket into the round of 32 with a 3-2 win.
R32: Tusker FC 2-0 Bidco United
This was the first match in the Cup, under the new Juliet Mette jurisdiction. The team gave in a brilliant display at the Police Sacco Stadium, goals in either half from Bless Bakai (in his starting debut) and Stephen Etyang delivering a well worked victory.
R16: Kariobangi Sharks 0-1 Tusker FC
Another tough duel was witnessed at the Kasarani Stadium against the Sharkmen. Fresh from beating them 2-1 in the league just two weeks back, William Muluya’s men came ready to make amends, and in a bigger platform, the Cup.
However, Ian Simiyu’s early goal was the trick, as it sailed the boys into control, despite playing on the backfoot in the second half. A resilient defensive display was the drive towards victory on this afternoon.
Quarter final: Ulinzi Stars 1-2 Tusker FC
This was yet another afternoon where Ian Simiyu once again proved his worth, and rise in form this season. The forward delivered a run that will linger in memory for long, delivering the decisive assist that saw Ibrahim Joshua score a 92nd minute winner.
The soldiers had cancelled out Eric Kapaito’s early goal, but Simiyu had the last laugh. The forward burst out on the left with lightning pace to beat his marker, drive into the box and deliver a low cross that Joshua only had to stretch his shin onto and direct the ball home.
Semi-final: KCB 0 (3) – 0 (4) Tusker FC
The semis was a tough fought match, won with grit and determination on penalties. A 0-0 stalemate in regular time saw the game pushed to penalties, and it was Congolese goalkeeper Pavelh Ndzila that would deliver the big moment.
Fabian Adikiny had scored Tusker’s fifth penalty, sealing a 4/5 conversion rate with Dennis Oguma having struck the crossbar. With the bankers stepping up for their last, with Humphrey Mieno having also struck the woodwork, onus was on Ndzila to make the right side to dive.
Up stepped David Sakwa, planting his penalty on the left side. Ndzila read it right, stretched his limbs and parried away the ball to send the Brewers into the final.
Key stats:
Thomas Omolle and Eric Kapaito had the best goal contributions (three) in the run up to the final. Omolle has two goals and an assist while Kapaito has a goal and two assists. The team scored eight goals from open play in the five matches played.
Captain Charles Momanyi was the only player to have featured in every minute of the five matches played.
The team kept three cleansheets in the five matches played.
