‘It would be catastrophic to bring new coach’ – Why Ghost Mulee wants FKF to retain Kimanzi for CHAN assignment

Former Tusker head coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee has stressed the need for the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to retain Francis Kimanzi and his interim technical bench to guide Harambee Stars during the CHAN tournament.

According to Mulee, it would be catastrophic for the federation to change the technical bench at this point.

”It would be catastrophic to bring in a new coach right now since we don’t have a lot of time before the tournament. The new coach will need time to understand the players and the environment, and before he has settled, the tournament will be with us.

“I propose that we let us retain the three men because they already understand the players and the environment, and we just support them to do well,” Mulee said as quoted by a local publication.

CHAN draw

After Kenya were pooled in the same group with Morocco, Angola, Zambia, and DR Congo, many pundits claimed that this is a group of death. But Mulee thinks otherwise, tipping Stars to overcome their opponents in the August showpiece.

“My experience with Stars is that they always do well when paired against tough opponents. When you expect them to win, sometimes they don’t, but when we do expect them to fail, they always rise up, and I am predicting the same will happen this time around,” he added.

FKF is being run by a new administration after the election of Hussein Mohammed as the president with McDonald Mariga as the vice president. To perform in CHAN, Mulee has shared what they need to make the Harambee Stars strong.

“They have just been elected and therefore need a lot of support, especially from the government. The first step is to get money into the league to ensure that players are paid on time so that they can perform,” he added.

Mulee attended the CAF’s CHAN draw that was held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.