ESIPISU: Rise King Bennie! Rise Harambee Stars!

New Harambee Stars Head Coach Benni MCcarthy during his official unveiling/SCREENGRAB

“Kenyan, just be a little patient!” was the cry of newly elected Kenya Football Federation President, Mohammed Hussein, after the unveiling of Bennie McCarthy as the national team head coach. And yes, whilst Kenyans should take this opportunity to practice patience, the excitement of such a big-name African head coach is one that is naturally infectious.

After all, we are talking about a coach who’s playing record was exceptional, with an understanding of the developmental phase through to professional football, an F.C. Porto legend and UEFA Champions League winner.

As a coach, he’s had a short but relatively successful career, with his only major blimp so far being a lackluster start to the 2019 campaign with Cape Town City.

Since then, he’s taken AmaZulu FC to their best domestic performance, finishing 2nd in 20/21, followed by qualification to the CAF Champions’ League Group Stages through the preliminary rounds in their debut season.

He left Amazulu in 2022 to join Erik Ten-Hag at Manchester United as a first-team coach, choosing not to re-sign with the club to pursue his own head coaching role.

The hire is one that should breed confidence in the new administration. But given FKFs historically poor management of the federation from the 1990s (and general selfidolisation by custodians of sporting political positions), I take the newly elected duo of President Hussein and Vice-President McDonald Mariga with a pinch of salt.

Certainly, Mariga provides a different look as the former Inter Milan player turned administrator, having suffered at the hands of the federation previously alongside his cousin and co-star Victor Wanyama.

Both legends have had to foot the bill for the national side when traveling for fixtures. The reality, however, is that power has a tendency to corrupt, and often the prerogative is to use the FKF funds as personal piggybanks, as previous Presidents have done. But the hire of King Bennie on a two-year contract?

That is a move that shows intent beyond what has been stated. Yes, World Cup qualification is the goal, but I argue that we should not get ahead of ourselves—two years points to AFCON 2027, where a strong showing will be demanded from the three host nations.

The new administration seems to be well on the path of restoring national pride in football, something that’s been woefully absent in the nation since Kenya’s last appearance at AFCON in 1990. Despite national academies being set up in the 80s, real talent has been hard to nurture.

I’d posit that we do not have any real intentional developmental-phase structures in place, despite Kenya having strengths in wealth, population, and affinity for football.

Several FIFA bans dating back to 2004 for “government interference”, countless corruption scandals, including the controversial ban in 2021/22 after Sports Minister Amina Mohammed attempted to rectify these issues through a government audit of the Federation.

Given this history, it is simply incredible, borderline ludicrous, that someone the calibre of McCarthy is named head coach – something only possible because of the clout and continental respect for Mohammed and Mariga.

On too many occasions we scream “African solutions for African problems” and then when we congregate, we take a Eurocentric view and solution to be more palatable to the West, and football has tended to be no different.

The new FKF administration could root their legacy in the development of football infrastructure, not just material but the intangibles that go along with it.

With CAF, under the leadership of another South African, Patrice Motsepe, looking to implement a strong administrative standard, there is an opportunity not only to develop football locally, but strengthen domestic football alongside our neighbours, and other countries in the COMESA bloc.

The Tanzanian league has already proven to be a continental powerhouse in recent years, and with the South African PSL consistently producing continentally challenging sides.

The new FKF leadership, throwing their weight behind development and strengthening the footballing ties between East and Southern Africa, could not only transform the Kenyan national side, but as a direct product, strengthen the African football ecosystem.

Working together has always been the African way, and I think it is interesting that a South African with a true understanding of Ujamaa and Ubuntu is at the helm of the Harambee Stars. Good luck, Benny!

The writer is a sport business strategist and founder of Kutawala Sports Consulting