Football Kenya Federation Vice President McDonald Mariga has linked the recent improvement displayed by the national men’s football team, the Harambee Stars, to a good working relationship between the government and the federation.

Speaking ahead of Harambee Stars’ last Group F of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier outing against African champions, Ivory Coast, on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Mariga said the national government’s efforts towards improving stadia facilities, including training grounds for both men’s and women’s national football teams, have been the reason the national sides are competitive in international fixtures.

Mariga also hailed his boss at Kandanda House, FKF President Hussein Mohammed, for the goodwill to ensure national teams across the board. The former Inter Milan star and Harambee Stars ace said Hussein Mohammed has been at the forefront championing the general welfare of players, including reporting to camp earlier and providing standardised accommodation.

‘’The federation has been supportive of all national teams because I have been following as the vice president. President Hussein is doing a good job because he makes sure the teams report to camp on time.”

“He makes sure both men’s and women’s national teams are well accommodated. The government has been coming through nicely. The infrastructure has been good; we have standard pitches to train with. With that, the teams are motivated, and football can flow because of improved facilities,’’ Mariga said.

Govt efforts

The Kenyan government, through the Ministry of Sports, under Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya, have lately been dedicated towards revamping, refurbishing and constructing new stadia facilities before, during and after the 2024 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN 2024), a tournament that was successfully co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in August 2025.

Following the upgrade of these vital facilities, Mariga has said it becomes easy for players to focus on delivering better results when the infrastructure is favourable.

He also said scouts find it easy to identify talent, thus promoting exposure of players to the established leagues in the world, like the English Premier League.

‘’With that, it is easy to identify talents; we want to be qualifying for these tournaments. As you know, we got the World Cup Qualifiers halfway, but for us, we are aiming for better rankings. That will make it easier for our players to make it from Kenya to places like the United Kingdom. When players are comfortable, what they think of is just playing and winning,’ the FKF vice president said.

With the dream of playing at the 2026 World Cup up in smoke, Mariga said the Harambee Stars are aiming to improve their FIFA rankings when they take on the Ivory Coast at the Alassane Quattara Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night, starting at 10:00 EAT.