Kenya men’s national team – Harambee Stars – are set to compete in this year’s Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup set for 26 June to 7 July.The announcement, made by Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa on Sunday, comes after one of the participating nations – Malawi – pulled out of the 12-team regional tournament.##NAJAVA_MECA_8163796##It is reported that the Malawi Football Association has taken the decision to skip the tournament as they mourn the death of their Vice President Saulos Chilima, who was killed in a plane crash on 10 June.Harambee Stars will therefore come in as their replacements, joining Group B, which also has Zambia, Comoros and Zimbabwe.This comes as welcome news for the Kenyan team, who will now be actively involved in the coming months, with this year’s CECAFA Senior Challenge tournament having been cancelled.Engin Firat’s side, whose last two games this month saw them draw against Burundi (1-1) and Ivory Coast (0-0) in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, will play a maximum of three games, extending to five should they make it out of the group stages.According to the draw made on Friday 14 June, hosts South Africa will be in Group A with Botswana, Mozambique and Eswatini.In Group B, Kenya, Comoros and Zimbabwe will be joined by record seven-time champions Zambia, who will seek to win three titles on the spin.Group C has last year’s runner-up Lesotho, three-time Angola, 2015 champions Namibia and Seychelles.More to follow…
