Following the arrival of Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat in the country on Wednesday, local players eying a national team call up will be playing with a lot of intensity, hoping to catch the eye of the Turkish tactician.
Firat, 52, was all smiles after landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi at around 3am.
He was received by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) officials.
His first assignment with Stars, who have been in the cold for more than a year now following Kenya’s suspension by Fifa, will be the back-to-back friendly matches against Burundi in Nairobi on March 25 and 28.
The provisional squad for the two matches is expected to enter camp on March 17.
Fifa suspended Kenya on February 24 last year, owing to the decision by former Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to disband FKF on alleged corruption.
It was only after new Sports Cabinet Secretary for Sports Ababu Namwamba reinstated into office the disbanded FKF that Fifa lifted Kenya’s suspension on November 29 last year.
After Stars’ dismal performance in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Firat was forced to return to Turkey after the FKF Caretaker Committee declined to extend his two-month contract.
This despite having expressed interest to continue handling the team.
His poor record with the Moldova and Kenya’s dismal performance in the World Cup qualifiers are some of the reasons why the Caretaker Committee declined to extend his contract.
With Moldova, Firat never won any match in the 11 that he oversaw, while as Stars coach, Kenya failed to progress to the final round of the World Cup qualifiers despite landing in a “favourable” pool “E” that comprised Uganda, Rwanda and Mali.
In his first match as Stars coach, Kenya lost 5-0 to Mali in Morocco.
Last month, FKF Secretary General Barry Otieno made public that the federation had extended Firat’s contract for three years up to 2026.
He said this was after they witnessed an improvement in Stars’ display in their 1-0 loss to Mali at Nyayo National Stadium, and their 2-1 win over Rwanda in Nairobi.
Firat’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers was dominated by foreign-based players led by captain and Al Duhail striker Michael Olunga.
Gor Mahia’s red-hot striker Benson Omala and his Kenya Police counterpart Elvis Rupia are some of the local players looking to make the provisional squad to face Burundi.
Omala is currently the league’s top scorer with 16 goals, while Rupia has struck 11 times.