William Lenkupae of Kenya speaks during a post-match press conference after Kenya's 3-0 loss to Cote d'Ivoire in a Group 'F' 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Abidjan on October 14, 2025.
Some 59 players were called up to Harambee Stars for their failed 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying campaign.
Out of those call ups, 49 managed to play at least one of the 10 matches in the qualifiers with goalkeeper Faruk Shikhalo raking up the highest number of appearances as an unused substitute – five.
Eight of those 49 players who made at least one appearance for Harambee Stars were either born or raised abroad.
They are Adam Wilson (born in England), Alfred Scriven (born in Norway), Daniel Anyembe (born in Denmark), Ismail Gonzalez (born in Spain), Jonah Ayunga (born in England), Nabilai Kibunguchy (born in the United States), Vincent Harper (born in Kenya but raised in England), and William Lenkupae (born in Australia).
Harambee Stars striker John Avire (left) celebrates his goal with Jonah Ayunga during their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Namibia at the Orlando Pirates Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa on September 10, 2024.
Their record of appearances during that period shows that Kenya is yet to be blessed with a dependable crop of foreign-born players as is the case with North and West African countries that are spoilt for choice in that regard.
Lenkupae, who plays for Finnish Premiership club VPS that he joined in July from Australia’s Central Coast Mariners, made the most appearances of the foreign legion. He started five matches and made one appearance off the bench.
His appearances all came under Benni McCarthy who was appointed coach in March. Lenkupae scored one goal, on his debut, earning Kenya a draw against The Gambia. He was the only player born, or raised, abroad to score for Kenya during the qualifiers.
William Lenkupae of Kenya speaks during a post-match press conference after Kenya's 3-0 loss to Cote d'Ivoire in a Group 'F' 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Abidjan on October 14, 2025.
Anyembe, of Danish top club Viborg, has made four appearances for Stars. Gonzalez of Spanish third tier side Zamora, Harper of English fourth tier team Walsall, Wilson of Wales’ top flight side New Saint, have one starting appearance each. Among the four, Gonzalez is the only midfielder. The rest play in defence.
Defender Kibungunchy and forwards Ayunga (twice) and Scriven (once) made their appearances as substitutes.
Adam Wilson (left) of Kenya vies for the ball with Ghislain Konan of Cote d'Ivoire in a Group 'F' 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Abidjan on October 14, 2025.
Interestingly, Gonzalez has the longest history with the national team among the eight. He first featured for Kenya at the 2019 African Cup of Nations, where he became the first foreign-born player to play for Harambee Stars at a major tournament.
The 29-year-old has struggled to command a regular place in the national team though.
Questions about their quality
Save for Lenkupae, all the other foreign-born players have failed to command a starting position with Stars.
This fact raises questions about their quality. None of them plays for a club in Europe’s top five leagues – English Premier League, French Ligue One, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and Spanish La Liga. Their quality is not exceptional vis a vis the rest of the team.
Former Harambee Stars striker Dennis Oliech during a past event in Nairobi.
The only Kenyans who have featured in Europe’s top five leagues – Dennis Oliech, Joseph Okumu, McDonald Mariga, Michael Olunga, and Victor Wanyama – had their football education in Kenya.
Yet, that is not to say that there has been an absolute shortage of exemplary footballers of Kenyan descent. Divock Origi, a son of Kenyan former international Michael Okoth, played at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in the colours of Belgium, where he was born in 1995.
Origi has had an exceptional football career in Europe, where he has featured for Lille, Liverpool, Wolfsburg, AC Milan, and Nottingham Forest. He is undoubtedly the most successful footballer of Kenyan ancestry having won the Uefa Champions League (2018/19) and the Premier League (2019/20) with Liverpool as well as the EFL Cup (2022), FA Cup (2022), Uefa Super Cup (2019), and the Fifa Club World Cup (2019).
Belgium's Divock Origi (right) celebrates with Daniel Van Buyten after scoring against Russia during their World Cup Group H match at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on June 22, 2014.
Martin Olsonn, who was born in Sweden in 1988 to a Kenyan mother and a Swedish mother, also had a decent playing career in the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City, and Swansea City. He also played 56 times for Sweden, appearing for them at Euro 2012, Euro 2016, and the 2018 Fifa World Cup. His twin brother, Marcus, also played in the English Premier League and represented Sweden.
The fact that – apart from Origi and the Olsonns – there is hardly any other footballer of Kenyan ancestry sniffing at the national teams of European countries and turning out regularly for top European clubs, means that there is also less quality for Harambee Stars to rely on.
In September, Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy had talked about him and the federation monitoring players with Kenyan ancestry in Europe and other parts of the world. Perhaps they would be better off looking locally, and investing right here in Kenya.
