Why Harambee Stars require Sh200m to prepare for Afcon

Kenya beat Ethiopia 3-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations Cup Group F qualifier on Sunday to move closer to a place in next year’s finals in Cameroon. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Harambee Stars will need at least Sh200 million to adequately prepare for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa has said.

And to ensure the team performs well in the tournament on their return after a 15-year hiatus, FKF has lined up a series of international friendly matches after their final away Group F match against Ghana in March.

FKF has, however, temporarily shelved the team's plans to camp in France for three weeks after Cameroon was recently stripped of the rights to host the upcoming continental show-piece by the Confederation of African Football.

Harambee Stars, who have qualified for the Afcon finals with a game to go, are expected to clash with the Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz in London, United Kingdom before taking on three West African teams in France. The friendlies are subject to confirmation of the hosting venue for the 24-nation tournament.

Before heading to camp, the federation will organise a high-profile thanks giving friendly match.

“We’ve since submitted an estimated budget of Sh200 million to the ministry and we are looking forward to prepare the team adequately for the tournament.

“We are treating our away game to Ghana as part of it as well as the Jamaica and three other friendlies in Europe before going to Afcon,” said Mwendwa during yesterday’s press briefing at FKF headquarters in Kasarani.

“Initially, our plans were to camp in France but since Cameroon has been stripped of the hosting rights we shall have to wait for a month to see where it will be held.

He said that if South Africa will host the event then it will be very hard for Stars to camp in France considering that by then it will be summer in Europe while South Africa will be winter.

“We had even organised a friendly match against Jamaica in London, but it will depend with where the Afcon venue will be. We’ll also have an Afcon send-off match for Harambee Stars at Kasarani after the Ghana match.”

Mwendwa further said they are working out on a formula on how to share the Sh50 million promised by the government for the team’s qualification to the Cup of Nations between the federation and the team.

The team is expected to get 70 percent of the cash, while 30 percent will go to the federation.

“We are still working on the best way to share the money. But we will definitely engage the players and the technical bench before making the final decision,” said Mwendwa.