Football Kenya Limited (FKL), the body running football in the country, will Wednesday name a new coach to take charge of the national team, Harambee Stars.
The new coach will take over from Francis Kimanzi, the Kenyan credited with taking Harambee Stars to the second and final round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup-cum-2010 African Cup of Nations finals qualifiers which kick off in March.
The coach, whose name and nationality FKL was keeping under wraps late Tuesday, is said to be a European.
Kimanzi, who trained in Holland and also handles Kenya Premier League champions and representatives in the 2009 African Champions League tournament, Mathare United, quit the job late last month after failing to agree with the FKL on terms and working conditions.
Kimanzi succeeded goalkeeper-turned coach Jacob “Ghost” Mulee, a Germany-Holland-trained tactician who quit in a huff following Kenya’s disastrous start in the earlier rounds of the 2010 World Cup qualifier campaign.
However, Kimanzi changed the situation as the east Africans who are out to make their sixth appearance in the Nations Cup, posted good results and qualified for the second round of the qualifiers.
Kenya has made five appearances in the Nations Cup finals, but failed to go beyond the first round.
The new coach, to be named today, has his work cut out for him, as his principal task is to ensure Kenya qualifiers for both the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be staged in South Africa and the 2010 African Cup of Nations finals in Angola.
To accomplish the dream, Kenya must walk the extra mile as they are drawn in Group 2 against former Nations Cup champions and ex-Olympic soccer champions, Nigeria, Tunisia and Mozambique.
