This archive report was first published on 20 August 2019.
On Tuesday, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) officially unveiled Francis Kimanzi as the new coach of the Harambee Stars national football team.
With a rich coaching experience, Kimanzi is keen to make a lasting impact on the team, starting with a focus on one target at a time.
Kenya's appearance at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations after a 15-year wait has given Kimanzi a renewed sense of purpose, and he is determined to make the Stars regular participants at the showpiece.
As the former Mathare United coach, Kimanzi is best remembered for guiding the Stars to their best Fifa ranking ever, position 68 in 2008.
His in-tray is full, with the 2021 Afcon qualifiers and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being his top priorities. The Stars will face Egypt, Comoros, and Togo in the qualifiers.
“It will be a nice thing if we first make a comeback to the Africa Cup of Nations before shifting our focus to things like the World Cup which I believe is very possible,” Kimanzi said.
He also expressed his confidence in the squad that represented Kenya in the AFCON, stating that they did a good job and that he is working with a strong foundation.
As part of his technical bench, Kimanzi will be working with Zedekiah 'Zico' Otieno as his assistant coach. Otieno is also the head coach of KCB FC, but FKF President Nick Mwendwa has assured that Otieno will prioritize the national team's duty.
FKF has committed full support to the new technical bench, including organizing friendly matches for them. The team is set to play against Uganda on September 8 at Kasarani stadium and another friendly match against Libya in either Morocco or Tunisia.
