Two days after the Harambee Stars head coach position fell vacant, Football Kenya Federation have settled on former Mathare United tactician Francis Kimanzi to replace departed Frenchman Sebastiene Migne.
In an indication of what was to come, Kimanzi resigned from his head coach role at Mathare United last month when the team was still fighting to finish the Kenya Premier League season on a high, paving the way for his latest role.
A source at the federation revealed that Kimanzi alongside Zedekiah Otieno Zico have been tasked with leading the national team to a second successive African Cup of Nations final after deputising Migne at the ill-fated 2019 tournament in Egypt.
Yesterday top federation officials were locked up in a meeting at their headquarters, thrashing out finer details before officially unveiling the duo as the next occupants of the Stars hot seat. Both coaches have previously taken charge of the national team.
FKF’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Barry Otieno, said the new coach will be unveiled tomorrow. “The new Harambee Stars coach will be unveiled on Friday. I can’t disclose his identity at the moment either can I say we have settled on Kimanzi. Any reports suggesting that he will be the new coach should be treated as rumours.”
Kimanzi was in charge of the team in 2008 when the country’s place in the world football pecking order was at its highest (68). His second stint came in 2011 when he was tasked with taking the team to the Africa Nations Cup in South Africa in 2013 but fell short and was sacked. The KNVB trained coach ditched Mathare last month to concentrate on the national team duties which included tutoring the U-23 team Emerging Stars as well as the senior team.
“I learnt a lot under Migne and at the Afcon and I am seeking to build on that and sail to the 2021 finals. We have a lot of talent here and I believe I will be able to lead the national team to the next level. I am confident we can regain our past glory as far as Fifa ranking is concerned although it may take a while. Football has changed in the past decade but with support, we can redeem ourselves. During that time, the support was way below the current one but the players were dedicated. With time I am sure we will regain the momentum and positivity we had then.”
Kenya have been grouped alongside Egypt, Togo and Comoros in the qualifiers for the 2021 Afcon in Cameroon.
