Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat has once again bragged about his success with the Kenyan football national team.In an exclusive interview with Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency (AA) earlier this month (May), the gaffer pointed out how it was tough for him to assemble a proper squad for the country.##NAJAVA_MECA_8103888##He said Kenyan football has gone through difficult times due to the penalty it received from FIFA and is in the process of recovering.“Due to the FIFA penalty, no matches were played in professional leagues or national team levels in Kenya for 500 days. That’s why I can say that we started from scratch. I formed a new and very young team for the national team,” offered Firat.Despite the challenges, the gaffer expressed confidence in the strides he had made with the Kenyan team, pointing out wins against Asian Champions Qatar and a draw away to Russia, in addition to setting a new record for Kenya by managing five away wins last year.“One of the problems is that we played all our matches away because we do not have a FIFA-approved stadium at the moment. This was a serious test to establish a new team, but the boys went through the process well.“We played against strong teams that Kenya is not used to. We beat Asian champion Qatar away and drew away with Russia. Things are going positive for us in the national team,”“We broke many records in this process and won 5 away matches in the last year. No one has achieved this in Kenyan history. There is even a coach who has been on duty for 10 years, but he has not seen 5 away wins,”“We experienced this in one year. We won a cup in a special tournament in March. One of our biggest goals is the World Cup and the African Cup of Nations, which will be held in our country in 2027,” Firat said.Stars Abroad: Olunga’s brace inspires Al Duhail to Amir Cup semi-finalThe tactician further highlighted that the Kenyan League was not up to the required standards, pointing out the below stadiums and fields.“The Kenya League is not of the quality we want. Especially since the stadiums and fields are not in good condition, the players cannot truly reflect their talents on the field, which causes the quality of the league to decrease. I hope that if more investments come from sponsors from now on, clubs will also have the chance to make a move in this regard,” asserted Firat.Firat, who was appointed the Stars gaffer on September 19, 2021, on a two-month contract before earning an extension, has spelt a bright future for the national team, emphasizing that it has a young and promising team, among them Reims defender Joseph Okumu, whom the expert has backed to feature in the English Premier League (EPL) soon.“Many players are playing in Europe. You will see Joseph Okumu, who plays for Reims in France, in the Premier League soon. Michael Olunga, who plays in Qatar, is a very extraordinary centre-forward. I can say that he is one of the best strikers in the world right now; he has scored seven goals in the last 3 national matches. We are talking about such a player. There is Omurwa, who plays in Portugal. Currently, many star candidates are in our national team.”NSL: Benedict Wanjala talks Mara Sugar project, MCF snub and reason behind recent fine runKenya will be back to action during the FIFA June international break with World Cup qualifiers matches against Burundi and Ivory Coast.
