History-Making Coach Makes Firm Stance Over Calls to Succeed Benni McCarthy at Harambee Stars

Kenya U17 women’s national team coach Mildred Cheche has weighed in on recent calls to have her coach the senior men’s side in the near future.

Cheche has become a fan-favourite after guiding Junior Starlets to the FIFA Women’s U17 World Cup for the second time, having sealed qualification following a thumping 5-1 aggregate win over South Africa last weekend.

This comes two years after she broke the glass ceiling, sending a first-ever Kenyan team to a FIFA World Cup in 2024, and with her stock rising, fans have been calling on her to be thrown into the deep end by taking on the biggest challenge of them all, the Harambee Stars job.

“The men’s team no. No way at this moment,” Cheche said on Sporty FM. “First, empower the girl child because I am a girl child myself.”

“Before thinking about Harambee Stars or the other teams, I think about the girl child because for years and if you look at previous years, we have never seen women to this level,” he added.

“Most of the time, it is about men going to this and that competition but we have [now] got to see what women can do. So that has to continue and for that to continue, I cannot leave now and go to that other side,” said Cheche as she looks forward to leading her team at the 2026 U17 World Cup in Morocco between October 17 and November 7.

The Harambee Stars job will likely become vacant after the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations when the contract of head coach Benni McCarthy comes to an end as he has expressed a desire to return to club football soon.

While fans would like to see Cheche in the hot seat, that appears to be a pipe dream not just because she is not buying into the idea, but the fact that she has limited experience working with a senior men’s team.

Football Kenya Federation will be going for an experienced male coach to succeed McCarthy when he departs with Cheche likely to be considered for roles such as the Harambee Starlets job given some of the players in the senior women’s team have come through her hands.