Tuesday 18th March, 2025 12:00 PM|
When Hussein Mohammed obtained a certificates from the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Electoral Board chairman Hesbon Owila and FIFA Counsel member Isha Johansen on the Kasarani Gymnasium on December 7, 2024, he spoke of reworking the nation’s soccer in document time by way of his ‘Fresh Start’ slogan, which noticed him sweep the vast majority of the National Executive slots within the hotly contested polls.
Today, People Sport appears to be like at his hits and misses after precisely 100 days in workplace, a seat that had attracted eight contestants.
From the manifesto offered to native soccer fans by group ‘Fresh Start,’ the primary 100 days of his tenure have been anticipated to be a interval of intense exercise and alter. However, this doesn’t appear to be the case.
Changes have been made, however only a few, resulting in a interval of stagnation and uncertainty because it is taking longer than anticipated to show issues round.
The most seen achievement of the present workplace is the hiring of high-profile South African coach Benni McCarthy, who’s believed to have signed a contract incomes him Sh8 million per thirty days— the best wage in Harambee Stars’ historical past for a international coach.
McCarthy, in his first nationwide group teaching job, is tasked with constructing a profitable group that can assure Kenya’s sturdy efficiency within the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which can be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
McCarthy has a wealthy résumé, however the hefty month-to-month wage has raised eyebrows.
Hussein couldn’t be reached for touch upon the telephone and didn’t reply to textual content messages.
The group additionally secured essential match participation for Harambee Stars in Zanzibar, the place the nationwide males’s soccer group was knocked out by the hosts.
However, the match no less than offered a chance for brand spanking new call-ups to show their mettle.
The youth leagues for Under-13 and Under-16 have taken place, and each Harambee Starlets and Junior Starlets have gained essential qualifiers towards Tunisia and Uganda, respectively, progressing of their campaigns.
Hussein additionally shaped an Adhoc Committee that carried out an audit and found that the federation was in debt of greater than Sh300 million.
Despite these child steps in the primary 100 days, Hussein has confronted a number of challenges and is but to regular the ship, as slight divisions have emerged in the manager management.
This might make it tough to implement new concepts and methods, because the federation president could also be reluctant to make tough selections.
Hussein had promised to safe sponsorship for all of the leagues, however that is but to materialise. The FKF-Premier League nonetheless depends on the published sponsorship of Azam with no league title sponsor, whereas the FKF-Women’s Premier League stays with out sponsorship.
Referees are additionally but to be paid their dues for 12 rounds of league matches.
The technical bench employees for Harambee Starlets and Junior Starlets (who steered the juniors to their maiden World Cup) stay intact, as does the technical bench for the nationwide Under-20 males’s group, indicating that inherited constructions stay unchanged, with no short-term plans to overtake them.
Harambee Stars depart the nation immediately for a vital World Cup qualifying match towards Gambia with out enjoying a pleasant match, which might have helped coach McCarthy assess the strengths and weaknesses of his gamers, on condition that he’s new to the group.
Previously, Harambee Stars gamers stayed in five-star inns whereas in camp making ready for worldwide matches.
However, they’re at the moment accommodated on the Stadion Hotel Complex in Kasarani, which doesn’t have a star score.