Coach of former Uefa Cup (Europa) champions German side -Eintracht Frankfurt Engin Firat as Kenya’s national football team Harambee Stars the new head coach on a two-month contract.
Football Kenya Federation boss Nick Mwendwa announced that Firat will be in charge of the national team for the next four 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. .
This comes after Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee resigned from the post he had held for 11 months.
Firat’s big task will be to help Kenya find a first 2022 World Cup qualifying win after draws against Uganda and Rwanda in the opening two games. Kenyans will also be keen to see whether the Turkish will incorporate high-profile stars like Victor Wanyama, Ayub Timbe, Jesse Were, and Johanna Omollo, who were overlooked by Mulee.
Confirming the appointment at a Nairobi hotel on Sunday, FKF president Nick Mwendwa explained why they settled on the 51-year-old tactician.
“We were looking for someone who fits the project that we have. We are in between a campaign already and we wanted someone who can look at the task and be prepared for it. We were not looking for someone who would be here for three four years but we wanted someone who can help us for these qualifiers,” said FKF boss Nick Mwendwa.
Firat is the latest foreigner to take charge after Sebastien Migne, who left his position in 2019 when Kenya were defeated by Tanzania in the African Nations Championship (Chan) qualification.
Initially, Migne had guided Kenya to the 2019 African Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt, where they picked up a win in a group that had Senegal and Algeria – the eventual finalists – and neighbours Tanzania.
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