From English ninth-tier non-league to Champions League: Kianga's three-year rise with Bratislava

Manasse Kianga is on the verge of a Champions League debut with Slovan Bratislava against Stuttgart on Wednesday — a milestone that would complete one of football’s more extraordinary three-year journeys, from the ninth tier of English football to Europe’s elite club competition.

The 24-year-old South African striker was playing for Rossington Main in the Doncaster area as recently as the 2022/23 season, helping the non-league side earn promotion to the ninth tier. He is now part of a Bratislava squad managed by Manchester City legend Yaya Touré.

Kianga’s path to Slovakia was anything but straightforward. After moving to the Rotherham area around 2017, he balanced football with studying business and accounting at Thomas Rotherham College and also turned out for Team Sport in the Rotherham and District Sunday Football League. A failure to secure a permanent UK work permit forced him to return to South Africa in 2024.

He subsequently moved to Lokomotiva Kosice in the Slovakian third tier before earning a transfer to Bratislava earlier this year. After impressing for the club’s reserves, Kianga broke into the first team under Touré and scored during Champions League qualifying, helping the Slovakian champions eliminate Swedish side Mjällby to reach the league phase. He missed the matchday squad for Bratislava’s opening group fixture against Paris Saint-Germain but will hope to feature against Stuttgart.

Rossington boss Ben Hunter, speaking to BBC South Yorkshire, remembered the striker’s trial vividly. “He came to trial with Rossington and I had a look at him and straight away loved him. He was a really great guy as well and always played with a smile on his face. You could see his ability in terms of his speed and physical presence, but he was quite slight. He stayed with us and he did really well — a lot of higher-up teams were interested in him.”

Former Bradford City and Grimsby Town striker Ross Hannah, who played alongside Kianga at Rossington, added: “Me and him were a real problem for defenders and teams because of the way we complemented each other. It’s amazing the journey he has been on.”

Kianga made a bright start to the Bratislava league campaign under Touré, registering two goals and two assists in the team’s first three league games, before dropping to the bench. Wednesday’s home match against Stuttgart represents his clearest opportunity yet to make his mark in the Champions League, with further group fixtures against Real Betis and Shakhtar Donetsk still to come.