A former Rossington Main striker is getting ready to make his bow this month in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.

Manasse Kianga, who played a massive part in the Macron NCEL side’s promotion to the Premier Division four seasons ago, now plays for Slovak outfit Slovan Bratislava who have qualified to be centre stage in Europe’s biggest club competition.

It is a rapid rise for the South African forward who joined Main in 2019 as a 17-year-old having moved to England with his family two years earlier.

He quickly became a fan’s favourite at Rosso and enjoyed five years at the club, punctuated with short spells at Grantham Town, Worksop Town and Sheffield.

Difficulties in getting a work permit then led to a return to his homeland in 2024 but he quickly moved back to Europe to sign for Lokomotíva Košice in Slovakia before a move to that country’s top tier earlier this year.

After promotion from the reserves by manager Yaya Touré because of an injury crisis at the club, he has made an immediate impact, scoring a stoppage time winner in the first leg of their Champions League Third Round Qualifying tie with Mjällby AF in his side’s run to the league phase.

And, their reward cannot be any greater as Bratislava’s next game will be a trip to cup holders Paris St Germain later this month.

Manasse will also be hoping to be in the line-up for ties against other well-known European club sides AS Roma, Inter Milan, Real Betis, Lille, Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart and LASK.

All at the Macron NCEL wish Manasse the best of luck in his new and exciting adventure and he is an excellent example to all players at Step 5 and 6 of the FA National System of how possible it is to get to top of the game.