Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has offered a rare call-up to an FKF Premier League forward ahead of CHAN 2024 after the exits of Moses Shumah and Emmanuel Osoro.
With his preparations for the CHAN 2024 tournament having been disrupted by the departure of key strikers Moses Shumah and Emmanuel Osoro, Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has been looking for alternatives.
Shumah and Osoro joined Zambian side Power Dynamos this month, which sent McCarthy back to the drawing board, as the two were the leading scorers in the FKF Premier League, having scored 17 and 16 goals respectively.
With the CHAN tournament reserved for players plying their trade in their local leagues, their registration for the Zambian club makes them ineligible and it means the Harambee Stars coach has to find suitable replacements.
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Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has advised his players to grab their opportunities at CHAN 2024 as it could open doors for them to play abroad.
That has seen McCarthy rope in a number of players and the latest is Bandari striker John Makwata, who has earned a late call-up to the national team.
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Makwata’s call-up was confirmed by his club who expressed its delight at seeing yet another of their stars get a chance to don the Harambee Stars jersey.
“John Mark Makwata is the newest Bandari FC player to join the Harambee Stars squad, bringing our club's representation to a remarkable seven players – making us the top contributors to the national team. Officially injecting ZEGEDEE into CHAN,” Bandari posted on social media.
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Makwata’s call-up sees him end a near five-year exile from the national team since his last appearance for Harambee Stars was in November 2020, during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Comoros.
The former AFC Leopards striker joined Bandari in February this year after a short spell in Tanzania with Coastal Union and brings a lot of experience as well as a different dynamic to the attack.