McCarthy reveals Harambee Stars’ dream to play in CHAN final
By Luke Oluoch, August 2, 2025Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has declared that his team will leave everything on the pitch as they embark on a historic African Nations Championship.
With the major tournament coming to Kenya for the first time, Harambee Stars have arguably the best chance of securing their maiden continental silverware on home soil.
Kenya’s motivation for the games received a boost after President William Ruto pledged to gift the team Ksh600 million on Saturday, August 2, 2025.
Speaking ahead of the team’s opening clash against DR Congo on Sunday, August 3, 2025, McCarthy said the team is ready to give a performance that Kenyans will be proud of.
Eyes on the finals
“We will do our utmost best so that everybody can be proud of being a Kenyan. The player will show every bit of spirit starting tomorrow that every Kenyan can associate with,” he said.
“The players have been putting in the hard work, and we are ready to do our best and be there until the last man standing. We want to be in that final come the 29th of August, and we are going to be in that final,” he added.
McCarthy’s pledge comes after Ruto outlined a Ksh600 million prize for the Harambee Stars team if they make history by lifting the 2024 African Nations Championship games.
Speaking during a meeting with the team on Saturday, August 2, 2025, Ruto announced that the package is part of Kenya’s support and motivation for the players as they embark on the continental campaign on home soil.
“I have revised the Ksh200 million reward for reaching the finals that Salim Mvurya had placed with you. If you reach the final, you will have a cash prize of Ksh600 million. It cannot get better than this. Now it is upon everyone to play their part,” the head of state told the team.
The president’s pledge also included a Ksh60 million reward if the team reaches the quarterfinals and a Ksh70 million reward if they reach the semifinals of the games.
“For every game you win, every player here gets a million shillings. For every game you draw half a million shillings,” he told the players.
Ruto also outlined a different reward scheme targeting individual players. Every member of the team’s playing unit will receive Ksh1 million for every win and Ksh500,000 for every draw.