Kenya national team head coach Engin Firat has attributed the failure to qualify for the 2025 AFCON to the disorganisation surrounding Kenyan football.
The Harambee Stars have officially failed to secure a spot for the biggest African football competition taking place in Morocco next year.
This follows the 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Friday evening. During his post-match interview, the Turkish-born mentor says the football situation in Kenya has contributed immensely to the downfall of the Harambee Stars.
The last time Kenya qualified for the CAF showpiece was in 2019, hosted in Egypt. They finished third in Group C.
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“I can understand everybody. It’s their right to be angry because we wanted to go 100 per cent. So, none of us is happy about it,” he said.
“But we have to realise what we have and stop dreaming. You remember how many times I have spoken about problems in Kenyan football, and they never fixed the problem. Things are getting worse. As long as we don’t solve these problems then it will take more years.
“Why don’t we go after the reality that we have in Kenyan football and stop dreaming? Solve the problems.”
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“In Kenya, it’s only we want, we want, we want. By giving what? In three years, we have never played a match at home [in Kenya]; show me another nation that has gone through that. We have no fans, nothing, we have no support.
“We don’t even have a training field in Kenya. Show me one training field. Which training field can you compare to another country? he asked.
“As long as we don’t solve these problems, what would you want to do? Do we change something, federation change? Coach change? What will change at the end? Nothing. There is a reason why the national team did not qualify for the last two AFCONs.”
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