Benni McCarthy dreams of making Kenyan national soccer team as strong as the country’s athletics

Benni McCarthy, Coach of Manchester United looks on during a training session at Carrington Training Ground on December 11, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

By Yanga Sibembe

5 Mar 2025

South Africa’s Benni McCarthy has been appointed as the new coach of the Kenyan national men’s soccer side, marking just his third job as a head coach.

“We want to make football as dominant as the athletics is.” That’s the difficult target Benni McCarthy has set for himself and his technical team after being appointed as the head coach of the Kenyan senior men’s soccer side.

Kenya has long been the leading African country in athletics, particularly in long-distance running. The East African nation boasts 124 Olympic Games medals, which is a record for the continent. McCarthy has ambitions of propelling the men’s soccer side to similar heights.

McCarthy takes up the job in Kenya almost a year after he departed Manchester United at the end of his two-year contract, having worked under the Red Devils’ former manager Erik ten Hag as a forwards coach. Now he has been tasked with turning Kenya’s soccer side into a competitive force in Africa.

The 47-year-old former striker and Bafana Bafana’s all-time top scorer has signed a two-year deal with the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), which will see him lead the team at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) if he stays that long. The Kenyans, alongside neighbours Uganda and Tanzania, will co-host the tournament.

In December 2024, McCarthy — who played for teams such as Portuguese side Porto and English team Blackburn Rovers during his active days — said he was keeping his options open while searching for his next job.

At the time, he told journalists that he had put his name in the hat for jobs in the US’ Major League Soccer (MLS), so his decision to take up the Kenyan job would have raised some eyebrows.

“I would not say I was in demand. I did have a few job interviews for jobs where you go with other coaches, mostly with MLS clubs in the US,” McCarthy told FKF’s media department.

“Then this (the Kenyan job) came back. It’s a sleeping giant in my eyes. I looked at the project and it’s a country that has a lot of potential. They have some really talented and young players, who play abroad, all over. With the right mindset, mentality, we can do something special for the team,” McCarthy said.

Benni McCarthy. (Photo: Steve Haag / Gallo Images)

The South African soccer legend will have his own hand-picked technical team to try to help him achieve his targets with the national team, who failed to qualify for the upcoming 2025 Afcon in Morocco and have never qualified for the Fifa World Cup.

Vasili Manousakis left his role as Cape Town Spurs assistant coach to take up the same role in the Kenyan national team, alongside McCarthy. Former Orlando Pirates keeper Moeneeb Josephs will serve as the team’s goalkeeper coach, while Pilela Maposa has been appointed as the team’s performance analyst.

McCarthy says FKF’s leadership, particularly president Hussein Mohammed, and his deputy McDonald Mariga, were crucial in convincing him to make the move to Kenya.

“With Kenya it was an opportunity. There was a lot of respect from the federation side, the president and the deputy president — their conversations with me were with a lot of respect and admiration for me. For my mentality, my mindset and my story — coming from Africa and moving to Europe at such a young age, to survive and flourish under those circumstances, is a story that Kenyans can take from and then take it even further,” McCarthy stated.

Benni McCarthy during his coaching stint at Manchester United. (Photo: Matt McNulty / Getty Images)

Mohammed said McCarthy was appointed “after a rigorous selection process”.

“We are confident that Benni McCarthy is the right person to lead our national team forward. His experience, vision, and commitment to developing Kenyan football align perfectly with our ambitions,” said Mohammed.

As for the pressure that he will face in the job, McCarthy says he is ready — especially since he has to hit the ground running when the Kenyans continue their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign this month.

The Harambee Stars currently occupy fourth place after playing four of their 10 qualifying matches in Group F. They trail log leaders Ivory Coast, who have accumulated 10 points, by five points. The Kenyans are next in action on 17 and 24 March — when they will tackle Gambia and Gabon.

“Pressure comes with this job. Whether it’s Kenya or Manchester United, when you become a head coach, there is an incredible amount of pressure that comes with that. You know you have to be successful and win football matches, which is difficult,” McCarthy said.

His predecessor, Engin Firat, left the Harambee Stars in December 2024, after the FKF failed to pay his salary for an extended period. However, the federation said its finances were now in order and the same fate would not befall McCarthy and his colleagues.

This job will be just the third for McCarthy as a head coach, with his other two coming in the South African Premiership, with Cape Town City and AmaZulu. DM

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