AFC Totton
HERE’S A TIMELY BOOST FOR STAGS FANS on the eve of the opening day of the 2025/26 season: Welcome back, Hisham Kasimu!
The French striker banged goals in for fun during his previous stint at AFC Totton, particularly during the 2021/22 season that saw Jimmy Ball succeed Dan Sackman as manager, on the way to a sixth-place finish in the Southern League Premier Division South and the club’s first SDFA Southampton Senior Cup success in 40 years.
Kasimu’s goal in the Senior Cup final against Folland Sports at St. Mary’s Stadium was his 30th of that season, which prompted Farnborough, newly-promoted to the National League South at the time, to take him to Cherrywood Road where impressive form during the first half of the 2022/23 campaign caught the eye of League Two side Sutton United.
Despite having transferred to Sutton in January 2023, Kasimu had to wait until the beginning of the following season to make his debut for The Amber and Chocolates as a substitute against Gillingham. He didn’t score in his six league outings for Sutton, and a loan move saw him return to Farnborough for the latter part of 2023/24. He then bounced back-and-forth between ‘Boro and Enfield Town for a year, before returning to the Snows Stadium for a pre-season trial over the summer.
The 28-year-old hitman featured as a second-half substitute in the 1-0 home win over Aldershot Town, and has impressed enough during training to persuade Jimmy Ball to add Kasimu to his attacking arsenal as The Stags prepare to make their first-ever foray at Step 2 of the English football league pyramid, beginning with this weekend’s trip to Dover Athletic.
A hard-working, energetic striker with an impressive touch and clever close control – who proved to be a prolific goal-scorer in his formative years at Team Solent and under former Totton boss Glenn Howes at Blackfield & Langley – Kasimu often led the line on his own during his previous spell as a Stag, frequently demonstrating an ability to waft through multiple hefty centre-backs to get himself into dangerous shooting positions. He played wide on the left in the Aldershot game last weekend, and it will be interesting to see how Jimmy Ball deploys the livewire striker within the modern iteration of the AFC Totton attack.
“We’re delighted to have Hish back. He offers a dynamic, pacy, direct option to our front line,” commented The Stags' boss. “Once he’s fully fit, I’m sure he will do very well for us – as he did in his first stint at the club.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
