Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has delivered a sobering assessment of Kenya’s chances at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), admitting that the team is making a steady progress and winning the continental title is not impossible but may take time.
Speaking ahead of Kenya’s Group D qualifiers double-header against South Africa, the coach emphasized that Kenya lacks the squad, and called upon the importance of humility, proper resource allocation and realistic goal setting.
He noted that even with millions of dollars given, the team would struggle to match the quality and experience of these established sides. He added nations like Senegal, Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire have invested in multi-millions of shillings and elite in European academy.
“So, the team, the national team, is slowly but surely getting much better to a good level, and even if you were to pay me millions and millions of dollars to win AFCON, I don’t think Kenya has the resources and the team strong enough to compete with Morocco, Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal. Those are powerhouses,” McCarthy said.
He said Kenya’s emerging generation of young players, many of whom are playing in Europe, has a strong foundation for the team’s future.
Kenya doesn’t have a long history in African football, where they’ve done well in previous AFCONs. But now we have a new generation of players; young players, many of them play their football in Europe,” he added.
The coach acknowledged Kenya can win the continental tournament but cautioned such an achievement is unlikely in the immediate future.
“Kenya can win AFCON, but it’s highly unlikely we would have a chance to win. I’m not disrespecting anybody. I’m just being honest,” McCarthy said.
He said that the immediate priority is to ensure AFCON tournament is successful for the three host nations.
“For us, the main objective is to host the tournament and make sure that the AFCON is a big success for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda,” he said.