Harambee Stars Assistant Reveals How McDonald Mariga, Victor Wanyama Convinced Benni McCarthy to Coach Kenya

Harambee Stars assistant coach Vasili Manousakis has revealed how Football Kenya Federation (FKF) vice president McDonald Mariga and former captain Victor Wanyama played a pivotal role in convincing Benni McCarthy to take charge of Kenya's national football team.

Speaking about the events that led to the South African tactician's appointment, Manousakis disclosed that the process began with personal conversations between Benni McCarthy and the two football brothers, who shared their vision for the future of Harambee Stars.

According to the assistant coach, those discussions proved instrumental in persuading Benni McCarthy that the Kenyan project was one worth embracing.

Manousakis explained that Mariga and Wanyama's influence, coupled with their belief in the direction of Kenyan football, laid the foundation for McCarthy's arrival.

“Yeah, the phone calls happened when McDonald Mariga, you know, and Victor Wanyama...brothers, probably the most famous Kenyans of the footballing guys. They contacted Coach Benni, told them about their vision,” Vasili Manousakis said in an interview with Kick Off.

“Mariga is the vice president of the federation and is doing a fantastic job. So, you know, ex-players in management roles. And that's really how it happened, you know, sold the vision to Coach Benni. He started making the calls, got the group together again- myself, Joseph Moeneb and Pilela Maposa.”

Vasili Manousakis also recalled how quickly the new technical bench had to settle into their roles after accepting the challenge, with little time to prepare before competitive fixtures.

The coaching team was immediately thrown into preparations for Kenya's FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, making their transition anything but straightforward.

“Before we knew it, we were in camp, flying into one of the World Cup qualifiers; we really had to hit the ground running. But we've found our feet since then, and it's been amazing. We got the support from the federation, we got the support from the football-loving public,” Vasili Manousakis said.

“We know how we want to play, we know our principles, we know our models, and we try to instil that as quickly as possible into the team, and we had a fairly successful CHAN. I think we could have gone a little bit further, but that's the nature of the tournament.”

Since taking charge, McCarthy and his coaching staff have overseen Kenya during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers before leading the team at the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), where the Harambee Stars produced encouraging performances despite falling short of their ultimate objective.

The assistant coach also dismissed any suggestions of interference within the national team setup, insisting the Football Kenya Federation has provided the technical bench with the freedom and support required to implement its ideas.

Manousakis credited both the federation and Kenyan fans for helping create an environment in which the coaching staff could focus entirely on improving the team.

“So no interference from anybody, no issues. You know, the ban was lifted, as you said, and from there we just went from strength to strength. And the support has been, so far, great,” he added.