McCarthy explains why Kenya withdrew from Four Nations Tournament
By Luke Oluoch, July 23, 2025Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has explained Kenya’s decision to pull out of the CECAFA Four Nations Tournament that kicked off on Monday, July 21, 2025.
Speaking after the team’s return to the country on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, the South African tactician stated the decision was purely for footballing reasons.
He affirmed that the decision was made after conditions in the hosting nation, Tanzania, were deemed not to be the best standards to offer Kenya optimum preparations for the upcoming
Not the best of conditions
“It was a misfortune. We went there with good intentions, but unfortunately, it was not satisfactory. The team went there hoping for the best preparations for CHAN. But the conditions there were unfavourable for us to work in, keep our players fit, and play at the best level. For these reasons, we felt it was not best to continue. It was for the safety of the players and their well-being,” he said.
McCarthy further emphasised that his technical bench is committed to giving the best performance in the upcoming games.
“We decided to come back and continue our training at home. We are in the group of death, and if we don’t prepare adequately, we are going to have shortcomings, and people will ask questions. We don’t want to make any excuses. So our coming back to Kenya was the best possible way of going on with our preparations,” he added.
This comes as Kenya angles for the hosting of the 2024 African nations Championship (CHAN) which is just ten days away.
Meanwhile, following Kenya’s last-minute withdrawal, the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) faulted the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) for its last-minute decision to pull the team from the tournament.
In a strongly worded statement, CECAFA expressed deep frustration, terming Kenya’s abrupt exit as disappointing and unfair.
“The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) deeply regrets the decision of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to withdraw the Harambee Stars from the CECAFA Four Nations Tournament. Unfortunately, the decision came on July 21, when all reasonable concerns raised by FKF had been addressed earlier by CECAFA a few hours before kickoff,” read the statement dated July 22, 2025.
Integrity at stake
The regional body further warned that Kenya’s decision undermined the tournament’s objectives, which include preparing CHAN-bound teams ahead of the 2025 African Nations Championship (CHAN). The event is set to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania from August 2 to 30.
“CECAFA therefore finds the withdrawal of Kenya to be unfair, especially after extensive efforts were made to meet the Federation’s requests. The sudden nature of the withdrawal compromises the spirit of regional cooperation and affects the integrity of a preparatory tournament designed with the collective interest of CHAN-bound teams in mind,” CECAFA added.