Firat explained what the country must do to improve and stressed on the need for Kenya to borrow a leaf from her neighbor Tanzania.
Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat has explained what Kenya needs to do in order to take their football to the next level.
The Turkish-Cypriot tactician was appointed head coach on a permanent basis earlier this year after he initially took charge of Kenya’s four World Cup qualifying fixtures in November 2021. He oversaw the side’s narrow 2-1 loss to Iran in a friendly match in March.
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Speaking to Citizen TV, Firat explained what the country must do to improve and stressed on the need for Kenya to borrow a leaf from its neighbors Tanzania.
“We have to stop blaming other people,” Firat said. “This malaise has been going on for at least 40 years, and what? There is no result,” he added.
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“In East Africa, the problem Kenya is facing is that we have slept but our neighbors have not slept. Simba made the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League, Yanga made the final of the CAF Confederations Cup. Where are we? Our Champions play four matches and cannot even score a goal.”
Firat expressed the need for Kenyan football to find solutions by being more professional, which will have a knock-on effect on performances and results.
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“We need to stop blaming each other and think about solutions. The talents are emerging through luck. They make the top only through the gift God has given them. Nothing is put inside, this is the reality.
“They have massive problems in terms of tactical nous. They are not ready physically and their mental pressure is too high. We have to think in that direction. People only think about what is going on on the pitch and not what goes on behind the scenes.
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“For example, nutrition. We do not have a professional league. So many teams struggle to even come to a match. Some other teams even eat burgers before going to a match. How do you expect top performances from that?
“The problems are huge and we need to find solutions and blaming other people!”
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Kenya will take part in a four-nation series competition in Mauritius this June alongside Pakistan, Djibouti, and the hosts as the coach attempts to build a team for the AFCON 2025 and 2027 assignments.