McCarthy Bemoans Little Time With Harambee Stars Ahead of AFCON
Benni McCarthy wants more. More time, more sessions, more days on the training pitch with his Harambee Stars players — and he is not shy about saying so.
The South African coach opened up about the frustrations of international football’s compressed calendar after Kenya’s FIFA Series campaign. The problem is simple: players finish club matches on the weekend, travel Monday, and arrive Tuesday. By the time they are settled, match day is almost already here.
“Little time together with the players — when it is international break and some players play on Saturday or Sunday and then they travel and arrive Monday evening,” McCarthy said. That leaves Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Barely enough to train, let alone build something meaningful.
He knows what the alternative looks like. “In CHAN, we were together for a month so every single day, I wake up in the morning and see the players and I can have morning and afternoon sessions,” he said.
That month produced results. Kenya won CHAN 2024. The connection is not a coincidence.
For AFCON 2027, McCarthy wants a pre-tournament camp of one to two weeks. Not glamorous. But it could be the difference between a squad that knows each other and one that is still finding its feet when the tournament begins.