Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat has reiterated his criticism of hosting nations participating in the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers, ahead of Kenya’s match against South Sudan.Kenya are set to face the Bright Stars on Sunday at Juba International Stadium in the first leg of the CHAN CECAFA qualifiers, with a return fixture scheduled for next week in Kampala, Uganda.##NAJAVA_MECA_8445273##While Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have already qualified for next year’s CHAN, they are still competing in the qualifiers—a situation Firat strongly opposes.”If you are the host, you shouldn’t have to play in the qualifiers. It doesn’t benefit the players; it feels like a friendly with no pressure. South Sudan will need to play with maximum motivation,” Firat stated.##NAJAVA_MECA_8424471##He added, “Our players view this game as a friendly, and with crowded FIFA games, the Kenyan leagues are disrupted. They play one match and then wait three to four weeks, which is tough for them.”BREAKING: Former federation boss drops FKF Presidency ambition to back Cleophas ShimanyulaFirat acknowledged that the match against South Sudan will be challenging, given that the team has only had two training sessions to prepare.They had a light training session in Nairobi on Thursday and then again in Juba on Saturday, just a day before the game.Despite the limited preparation time, Firat remains optimistic about the team’s performance over the two legs.”Preparations start now; we had league matches in Kenya, so we only managed light warm-ups before travelling. To be honest, we lack sufficient preparation.””The schedule is demanding, especially for the players. We’ll try to come together for tomorrow’s match, but most of the players haven’t played together before, and having just one training session isn’t enough. Still, we will do our best to showcase good football.”President Ruto promises more support towards IOC refugee programsA victory against South Sudan will secure Kenya a spot in the second round of qualification, where they will face either Djibouti or Rwanda.
