Kenya national team head coach Engin Firat is pushing for Harambee Stars to face Turkey in an international friendly next year.

Speaking exclusively to People Sports after holding a meeting with the Turkey Football Association boss, the 53-year-old Firat confirmed they had discussed a range of issues including a friendly between the two nations probably next year.

“We talked about cooperation for the future in all categories between Kenya and Turkish football, also a possible friendly between the two nations (Kenya and Turkey) next year, and both Presidents will meet in the near future to continue with the talks,” Firat told People Sports.

Firat was named the Harambee Stars coach to replace Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee in 2021 and his first two assignments were in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture against Mali home and away.

Recently, he led Kenya to the Four Nations tournament in Mauritius, where the country finished third, after winning their opener 1-0 against Pakistan, before losing 1-0 against Mauritius.

In a recent interview with People Sports, Firat, graduated from Sports University in Germany before he started his professional career as an assistant coach for German manager Horst Hrubesch at Samsunspor in 1997, stressed the importance of friendly matches to help him come up with a squad for the national team.

“We want to play as many friendly matches as possible as this will give me the chance to see my players see what kind of players I have in my team and finally settle for my squad in readiness for the upcoming qualifiers,” he said.

Firat who seem to have been on a diplomatic mission to help develop Kenyan football, has also arranged several exchange coaching programs for the Kenyan coaches to get exposure in Turkey and Moldovia.
Harambee Stars will play in the 026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers where they have been pooled in Group F alongside Seychelles, Burundi, Gambia, Gabon, and Ivory Coast. The first match of the two-legged qualifiers will be played between November 13 and 21.

The winners of each group will directly qualify for the tournament. Additionally, the four best runners-up from the groups will advance to the CAF Play-Off tournament, whose winner shall secure a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.