Benni McCarthy Takes Swipe at ‘Silly’ AFCON 2027 Targets for Harambee Stars

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has fired back at a section of Kenyans who are demanding that his team must make it to the latter stages of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will co-host next year’s edition of the continental tournament and there is pressure on all three nations to perform well in front of their fans.

In Kenya, McCarthy has had to listen to different targets being set for his team with AFCON 2027 Local Organising Committee chairman Nicholas Musonye insisting they must reach the semi-final to maintain an interest in the tournament from fans while Football Kenya Federation vice president McDonald Mariga is hoping for at least a quarter-final place.

McCarthy himself has maintained that Kenya should be looking to at least get out of their group, provided they do not land tough opposition, but he is not impressed by what he now considers unrealistic targets being set for him.

“What did they do in their life that they want to come and make demands. If only they knew what it takes to win. So I don’t have time for ignorant and stupid people who don’t know what it is to manage,” McCarthy told South African outlet KickOff.

“People mustn’t be silly. For me, I think we could have a chance to get out of the group stages because the level is high and most of our players are playing in the Kenyan league. And the Kenyan Premier League, compared to the South African League, is very low.”

Harambee Stars have been to AFCON six times before and are yet to get past the group stages. McCarthy wonders how his team is now suddenly expected to match Africa’s top teams when they lack the experience of even progressing to the knockout rounds.

“You can’t be too ambitious and think, ‘Hey, I want to reach the semi-final’. Who are you going to beat to get there? Imagine you get Bafana Bafana or the Ivory Coast. The top two go through. Where are you going to finish? I have been in the game long enough,” he observed.

“It does upset you a little bit when you hear people giving silly comments and making statements like that, thinking they know more!"

During McCarthy’s reign, Kenya have come up against some of the top teams in Africa and fallen short, most notably the 3-0 loss to Ivory Coast in the World Cup qualifiers, before an embarrassing but sobering 8-0 thrashing from Senegal which laid bare how far they are from matching Africa’s elite.