Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa is confident of Harambee Stars qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.Stars, who are pooled in Group J alongside Cameroon, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, did not participate in the 2023 qualifiers after they were kicked out by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following an indefinite suspension that had been slapped on them by the World governing body FIFA for alleged government interference.Asked about Kenya’s chances to qualify from the group, Mwendwa said: “Look, our national team, Harambee Stars, has not lost a match this year, and this is because of FKF’s focus on the game and efforts on the team, and we are still improving, we can do better, and we are striving to do better.“It is very important to qualify for the AFCON; it is extremely important, We are in a group that we believe we must qualify, and we expect that Harambee Stars will qualify,” he told Sportsboom.##NAJAVA_MECA_8275740##“These are not those days when we say we will try to qualify; those days are gone. Now we are playing good football. The way we played against Ivory Coast in the World Cup qualifiers, the way we played against all the teams in the group, we expect that Harambee Stars will qualify for AFCON in Morocco.”Mwendwa, however, confirmed Kenya will not play their home matches at home because the only venue that could have hosted the matches—Nyayo Stadium—will be undergoing renovation in readiness to host the African Nations Champions (CHAN) and the 2027 AFCON.“That expectation wasn’t there before, but the only thing is that we may not play at Nyayo Stadium because now CAF is saying they want to host (CHAN) in Kenya and one other country; that is what I am hearing, and they (CAF) have requested we close the venue for a few renovation works,” said Mwendwa.STARS ABROAD: Omala off to a flyer in Lebanon as Akumu makes Iranian Pro League debut“We have approval for Gor Mahia and Kenya Police to play their CAF inter-cub competition matches at Nyayo, after which we will close Nyayo; we will get rid of the playing surface completely; we have told the Ministry of Sports about what CAF wants, and they are beginning to do it; and therefore, we will prepare Nyayo for another four to five months to host CHAN next year.”Kenya have participated in the AFCON six times, the first being in 1972. Their last appearance came in 2019, during the 32nd edition of the tournament, where they finished third in Group C which also had Algeria, Senegal, and Tanzania.Harambee Stars lost their opener 2-0 against Algeria, recovered to beat neighbours Taifa Stars 3-2 before losing 3-0 against the Lions of Teranga to exit at the group stage.
