McDonald Mariga Sets Lofty AFCON 2027 Target for Benni McCarthy’s Harambee Stars

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) vice president McDonald Mariga has opened up on his desire to see Kenya perform well when they host major tournaments, including the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Kenya will co-host AFCON 2027 with neighbours Uganda and Tanzania and are keen to impress on home soil despite historically exiting at the group stage of the continental tournament.

Harambee Stars have been to AFCON six times before and never made it to the knockout rounds but Mariga is categorical that it must change when they host.

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The former Kenyan international says the federation is putting in place measures to build a strong team that will not just be participating but competing at AFCON 2027.

“We are improving, doing better than past days. As a federation, we are trying to get better. We hosted CHAN, it was a great tournament and now we have this FIFA Series,” Mariga told TV47.

“We are building a great team, not just to participate but we want to reach maybe quarters or semi-finals. Not to host a tournament and you are out at the group stages,” reiterated the former Parma and Inter Milan midfielder.

Mariga’s hopes for at least a quarter-final appearance for Harambee Stars is a major target but goes in line with what AFCON 2027 Local Organising Committee chairman Nicholas Musonye said recently, with his feeling being that an early elimination would lead to low numbers in the stadium.

“Our target is to reach the semi-finals in the Africa Cup of Nations, and from there, we can plan how to reach the final. A semi-final place would stretch the competition to a level where everyone would be happy about it,” Musonye told Sporty FM in February.

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has already made it clear that he is looking to get past the group stages and hopefully, the quarter-final, if his team lands a favourable draw.

“If we are in a modest group, we can have a fighting chance and that is the first goal that we want to achieve, get out of the group and have the same impact we had when we played in the CHAN competition,” McCarthy said in an interview with South Africa’s CMTV in February.

“We went to a quarter-final and that is a realistic target because South Africa, Nigeria…there are so many great countries with better opportunities, better players than what we have.”

All these will, however, depend on who makes McCarthy’s team for the tournament and how well they prepare.