The Football Kenya Federation has announced the appointment of South Africa’s all-time top scorer, Benny McCarthy, as the new head coach of the national team on a two-year contract. This marks his first experience managing a national team.
McCarthy, 47, has previous coaching experience with Cape Town City and AmaZulu and also served as an assistant coach to Dutch manager Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
Commenting on the appointment, Football Kenya Federation President Hussein Mohamed stated, “After a rigorous selection process, we are confident that Benny McCarthy is the right person to lead our national team forward.”
McCarthy replaces Turkish coach Engin Firat, who resigned in December after Kenya failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The new coach expressed his pride in taking on the role and promised to improve the team’s performance.
Kenya currently sits fourth in Group F of the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and ranks 108th in the FIFA World Rankings. The team is set to face Gabon and Gambia later this month, needing victories in both matches to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
