McCarthy pledges to elevate Kenya to greater heights
Benni McCarthy has officially been appointed as the new head coach of the Kenya national football team, pledging to elevate the country’s football to unprecedented levels.
McCarthy, a contender for the role since December, was introduced to the Kenyan media on Monday.
He will be supported by fellow South African Vasili Manousakis as his assistant coach, with Moeneeb Josephs taking on the role of goalkeeper coach, which will be McCarthy’s first experience in managing a national team. Furthermore, Maposa Pilela, head analyst of AmaZulu, will join the national team staff starting March 15th, just two days prior to their away match against Gambia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
After concluding his stint as a striker coach at Manchester United under Erik ten Hag, McCarthy had been without a coaching role until this appointment.
“I aim to turn the Harambee Stars into the finest football team East Africa has ever seen,” he stated, as reported by sources in Kenya. “We aspire to instill pride in Kenyans while organizing CHAN and AFCON. Our goal is to progress to the later stages of the competition, whether that’s the semi-finals or the finals.”
McCarthy’s first match in charge of the Harambee Stars will be the away game against Gambia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, followed by a home clash against Gabon on March 24th in Group F.
As it stands, Kenya is currently in fourth place in Group F with five points from four matches, trailing leaders Ivory Coast by five points, Gabon in second by four points, and Burundi by two points.
McCarthy made history as the only South African to win the UEFA Champions League with FC Porto under José Mourinho in 2004, and he holds the record as the all-time leading goal scorer for Bafana Bafana, netting 31 goals in 80 appearances.
