Benni McCarthy, coach of Kenya ©Djaffar Ladjal/BackpagePix
Sunday Feb 22, 2026. 15:00
Kenya head coach Benni McCarthy has been challenged to steer Harambee Stars to at least the semi-finals of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The tournament will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in June-July next year and this edition of the AFCON will be the first to be hosted by three countries, and the first in five decades to be organised in the CECAFA region, since it was hosted by Ethiopia in 1976.
The ambitious target, set by Local Organising Committee chairman Nicholas Musonye, comes despite Kenya’s historical best of reaching the semi-finals and finishing fourth in 1972.
Legendary South African striker McCarthy – whose first AFCON in charge follows guiding them to the CHAN 2025 quarter-finals – faces a tough task to surpass that milestone on home soil.
“We will discuss with the Football Kenya Federation president on how the team will be prepared. As the LOC, we are concerned about the success of Harambee Stars,” Musonye said on Sporty FM about the former Manchester United first team coach.
“AFCON is big, and we want our team to prepare well. We want the government to support our national team preparations so that we have the best team to contest and be in contention for winning, not just participating.
“If the team stretches all the way to the semi-finals, it will make this competition very exciting. Our target is to reach the semi-finals in the Africa Cup of Nations, and from there, we can plan how to reach the final,” he added.
“A semi-final place would stretch the competition to a level where everyone would be happy about it.”