Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy is reportedly close to being appointed the coach of the Kenyan national team.
Kenya have been looking for a new coach since the resignation of Turkish tactician Engin Firat, who quit over two weeks ago, following the Football Kenya Federation elections that ushered in a new team, led by Hussein Mohammed.
The Kenyan FA started a process of looking for a new coach with a team led by the new federation vice president McDonald Mariga, the former Inter Milan midfielder, who won the 2010 UEFA Champions League under Jose Mourinho, tasked with identifying the right candidate.
Now, after assessing all the applications, it seems the Mariga-led team has settled on McCarthy, who would be taking over a national team for the first time.
Benni likely to be unveiled in the new year
According to reports in the Kenyan media, McCarthy will be unveiled in January although it is still not known if he will handle the team for the African Nations Championships (CHAN) which will kick off on February 1 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
“It’s a done deal—Benni will be the new Kenya coach,” a source from South Africa told Kenyan outlet Mozzartsport.
“He’s excited about the challenge, especially since this is his first time managing a national team. His unveiling should happen around early January, but the exact date will be confirmed soon.”
It is an interesting development from McCarthy, whose last job was at Premier League side Manchester United, where he worked as the club’s attacking coach from July 2022 to June 2024.
South Africa’s all-time top scorer is regarded as one of the best young coaches on the continent following his spells at Cape Town City and AmaZulu.
Will McCarthy be a success in Kenya?
He led AmaZulu to the MTN8 in 2018 before leading AmaZulu to a second-place finish in the PSL in the 2020-21 season, their best-ever, before taking the side to the CAF Champions League group stages the following season.
Kenya are looking to turn a new page after the less than impressive results witnessed under Firat, who won just three competitive matches, in his three years in charge.
He failed to deliver Harambee Stars to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations from a group that had Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Namibia and McCarthy will be tasked with preparing a strong team for AFCON 2027, which Kenya will co-host with neighbouurs Uganda and Tanzania.
His immediate task will be the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with Kenya fourth in Group F on five points from four matches, Ivory Coast leading with 10 points, Gabon second on nine, while Burundi are third with seven points.
Harambee Stars will face The Gambia away before hosting Gabon in the next round of matches in March 2025.
