Harambee Stars Prospects Secure English Premier League Promotion with Hull City

Kenyan prospects Eliot Matazo and Sammy Henia-Kamau will be playing in the English Premier League next season after their club Hull City secured promotion on Saturday.

Hull City beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in the playoff final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday when Oli McBurnie slotted home in stoppage time to secure their return to the Premier League since 2017.

Middlesbrough were given a place in the final after Southampton, who beat them over two legs in the semi-final, were expelled on Tuesday over a spying scandal but it was Hull celebrating a return to the big time.

Hull, who finished sixth in the English Championship, had beaten Millwall in promotion playoff semi-final, and were set to face Southampton in the final before the Saints were kicked out over the Spygate scandal.

With the game finishing goalless in 90 minutes, eight more minutes were added on and it seemed like both sides were headed to extra time until the fifth minute of stoppage time. McBurnie held the ball up for his side just over halfway and then got into the box - and when Boro goalkeeper Sol Brynn fumbled Yu Hirakawa's cross, the striker was in the right place to convert.

Both Matazo and Henia-Kamau were, however, not involved in the playoffs with the former nursing a long-term injury. Matazo, who was born in Belgium, is eligible to represent Kenya through his mother.

Matazo suffered a fresh anterior cruciate ligament injury in April and will be out for several months, the setback coming just 10 minutes inside his first game of the season against Charlton Athletic.

Meanwhile, Henia-Kamau plays for Hull City’s U21 side and is knocking on the door of the first team. He has made 12 appearances for Hull City U21 team this season, scoring four goals.

Born to an English mother and Kenyan father, the player, who joined Hull City in August 2025 from Swansea City, is in line to make his Harambee Stars debut after he was named into Benni McCarthy’s squad for the upcoming friendlies against Palestine and Kyrgyzstan next month.

Both will hope to play apart for Hull City in the Premier League in 2026-27.