South African Benni McCarthy playfully shares concerns as he takes charge of Harambee Stars
Newly appointed Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy made his first joke about being in Kenya saying his ‘family is struggling with the harsh UK weather’ at the moment.
The South African , who signed a two-year deal to take charge of Harambee Stars on Monday, added that he is not pushing to leave the country anytime soon because he intends to watch the FKFPL league in order to get to see the players who is going to work with ahead of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers against The Gambia and Gabon in the course of the month.
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Incoming Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy will get to work with the man he had selected as assistant after his current cut ties with him.
Harambee Stars settles scores with The Gambia on March 17 before hosting Gabon a week later at the Nyayo Stadium.
“At the moment my family is in the UK, but they are suffering (because of the weather), I don’t want to leave Kenya in a hurry, I will be here as much as possible, I will be in Kenya for as a long as possible, to try and watch local matches, and also visit players, who play in Europe, so they don’t feel neglected, we will try to visit all the players, so that when they come to camp, they will arrive in smiles and the results will be in our favour,” McCarthy told Flashscore.
McCarthy arrived in the country last week. Initially, he was to be unveiled on February 28 before the FKF set the Monday date. The 47-year-old says he feels at home after familiarizing with the environment since his arrival.
“For the past few days, I have been driving around, going around Kenya, and I have never felt at home anywhere, in my entire football career as Kenya, not because I am the new coach now, but I feel like I am Kenyan.”
McCarthy’s contract will run until the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Kenya kicked off their qualification campaign with a 2-1 defeat against Gabon, recovered to beat Seychelles 5-0, drew 1-1 against Burundi and secured a vital 0-0 draw against African champions Ivory Coast.
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Five of the greatest Harambee Stars players of all time.
Kenya are lying fourth in Group F with five points, five less than leaders Ivory Coast, while Gabon are second with nine points and Burundi third with seven points.
Speaking on Kenya’s chances to qualify, the former Bafana Bafana striker stated that he had not lost hope, insisting that anything was possible for the East African nation to qualify and grace the global competition for the first time in their history.