NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 25 – Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat says it doesn’t make sense to him why the team has to play the qualifiers for next year’s Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) despite having already earned a ticket as hosts.
Stars will take on South Sudan in the first round of the qualifiers on Sunday afternoon in Juba, before playing the return fixture next week in Kampala, Uganda.
“To be honest for me it doesn’t make any sense. It is difficult to play with no real aim because for you, it is a friendly game but for the rival, it is a qualification match so they will come with more motivation and aggression,” Firat said.
He added; “I have never heard this in my life that a qualified team can still play the qualifiers. I don’t know who has this idea and I have no clue what they wanted.”
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are all qualified for next year’s CHAN but are still playing the qualifiers. One more team from the CECAFA region will earn a ticket through this.
However, looking at the brighter side, Firat says the matches will be an opportunity for him to see more players, who could then give a shot at getting into the main team.
“This is an opportunity for me to see some new faces on this level. Some players here will use this chance to maybe get into the A team. These matches will also help us to build a team for the CHAN, but we still have a lot of time on us,” Firat stated.
The coach says the match against South Sudan will be difficult as he will only have had two training sessions to prepare the team; one on Thursday in Nairobi after they reported to camp and the other on Saturday, a day before the match.
Despite the short turnaround, the coach remains hopeful they will give a good show over the two legs. Victory against South Sudan earns Kenya a ticket to the second round of qualification where a date between either Djibouti and Rwanda awaits.
