Harambee Stars take on DR Congo at Moi international Sports Centre, Kasarani today from 3pm in their first match of the 2024 African Nations Championships Chan 2024.
Perhaps the delayed staging of the tournament was nature’s way of aligning the current euphoria of hosting a major CAF tournament with the nostalgia of the last time the country experienced a similar feeling when Kenya hosted the 1987 All Africa Games.
At the 1987 All Africa Games football competition, Harambee Stars played their first match on August 3, defeating Tunisia 1-0 to lay the foundation for a thrilling run that ended in a 1-0 loss to Egypt in the final.
Thirty eight years later, the country can only hope that Harambee Stars rewrites that history by going all the way.
DR Congo, winners in 2009 and 2016, are familiar with the euphoria of winning.
Since their last Chan triumph, DR Congo have lost twice -- in Kinshasa in October 2016 (0-1) and at Machakos in March 2017 (1-2), and drawn once against Kenya in friendly matches.
So dominant were Kenya in those two matches that Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga recently revealed that DR Congo requested they play a third match in France to properly settle the scores.
They did meet a third time on June 2019, battling to a 1-1 draw.
Hence, DR Congo go into Sunday’s match bruised from that trilogy and Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy will be aiming to extend the streak and give Kenyan football fans something to celebrate – a win on the country’s debut Chan.
Despite Kenya getting the better of DR Congo in their most recent encounters, DR Congo reign supreme in the overall head-to-head record. The previous 14 matches between the two countries have produced seven wins for DR Congo and four victories for Kenya. Three matches have ended in a draw. Still, the matches between the two countries tend to be close encounters. Ten of the 11 matches to produce a winner had a margin of one-goal.
McCarthy, 47, will also be chasing after his first win with the Harambee Stars in a competitive match since he was named the team’s coach in March. His first two matches ended with a 3-3 draw against The Gambia and a 2-1 loss to Gabon in a 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying matches played in March.
“Most importantly, we want to give our fans something to cheer about. Hopefully, we can be the better team on Sunday,” McCarthy said during the pre-match press conference at Kasarani on Saturday.
McCarthy said the players had been working “exceptionally hard” and their performance in training has given him a “selection headache”.
“Only 11 of the 23 players we have in the squad can start the match and whoever is selected, I am sure they will do their best to make their family and the country proud,” he said.
President William Ruto promised the squad over Sh600 million in wins and performance bonuses if they go all the way to win Chan with a 100 per cent record.
The President said Harambee Stars players will be awarded Sh1 million per win and Sh500,000 per draw. They will receive Sh60 million for progressing to the quarter-finals and Sh70 million for reaching the semi-finals.
Appearing in the final will fetch them Sh90 million and lifting the trophy will come with a bonus that is slightly above Sh100 million.
“The President brought calmness to our squad. Meeting the President will also help us to push our game even more and be successful not just for ourselves and our family, but also bring success to the country and extend our stay in the tournament,” said McCarthy.
Harambee Stars captain Abud Omar projected the calmness in the Harambee Stars squad and opened up on how he, Bandari goalkeeper Faruk Shikhalo and Migori Youth forward Masoud Juma are cultivating, as described by McCarthy, the harmonious mood in the squad.
President William Ruto with Harambee Stars players at their team hotel in Upper Hill, Nairobi on August 2, 2025.
Photo credit: PCS
“We have three experienced players in the squad. We always talk to the young players to motivate them and we also motivate ourselves. We know that we need to perform because we are playing at home, but we are not feeling the pressure. We have been playing together for long and stage fright is not something on our mind. I believe in my teammates and the coach believes in us too,” Omar said.
Omar, Shikhalo, and Juma are the only players in the squad with prior major tournament experience, having been part of Kenya’s squad at Afcon 2019, the last competition that Harambee Stars squad qualified for.
Coaching Harambee Stars at Chan 2024 will see McCarthy make history as the first South African to coach a foreign African team at a major CAF tournament.
The opportunity to lead Kenya at Chan 2024 had McCarthy looking back on his career, saying that featuring in the African Cup of Nations for South Africa had a significant impact on the development of his playing career.
He believes that Harambee Stars players can have a similar career path if they perform well at Chan.
“Chan is a big platform for players to showcase their talents. Scouts will be watching and opportunities can present themselves to move to Europe,” he said.
President William Ruto (left) and Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya (right) interact with Harambee Stars players at the team's training camp at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi July 16, 2025.
As far as scouting is concerned, DR Congo coach Otis Ngoma had a bone to pick with how Kenya is stretching the limits of their reconnaissance of his players. Ngoma accused Kenya of spying on their training sessions.
DR Congo captain Jackson Lunanga described the match against Kenya as “important”. “We have had good preparations, and we believe and hope that God will bless us with a victory.”
