Benni McCarthy TASKED to guide Kenya to semifinals of AFCON 2027

Benni McCarthy has been tasked to guide Kenya to the semifinals of the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Kenya will co-host the tournament with Uganda and Tanzania between June and July next year, marking McCarthy’s first AFCON as a head coach of a national team, having joined the side in March 2025.

The former Manchester United striker’s coach guided Kenya to the quarter-finals of CHAN 2025.

However, ahead of the AFCON, Nicholas Musonye, chairman of Kenya’s Local Organising Committee for the tournament, has insisted that McCarthy and his team should at least reach the semi-finals.

This is a task that will be particularly challenging, given that Harambee Stars’ best-ever AFCON performance came in 1972, when they reached the semi-finals and ultimately finished fourth.

“We will discuss with the Football Kenya Federation president on how the team will be prepared. As the LOC, we are concerned about the success of Harambee Stars,” Musonye said on Sporty FM.

“AFCON is big, and we want our team to prepare well. We want the government to support our national team preparations so that we have the best team to contest and be in contention for winning, not just participating.

He added that while they reached the quarter-finals of CHANG, they aspire to do better at AFCON.

“If the team stretches all the way to the semi-finals, it will make this competition very exciting. Our target is to reach the semi-finals in the Africa Cup of Nations, and from there, we can plan how to reach the final,” he added.

“A semi-final place would stretch the competition to a level where everyone would be happy about it.”