On March 13, the South African legend unveiled a 23-man squad for the upcoming FIFA Series set to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, between March 23 and 31, 2026 FIFA window.
Among the notable inclusions is Clarke Oduor, who returned to the national team fold after a lengthy absence. Meanwhile, Zak Vyner and Zech Obiero will be hoping to make their Harambee Stars debuts during the series.
The squad selection has elicited debate across a section of Kenyan fans, and stakeholders, with former AFC Leopards legend Reginald Asibwa, and Kakamega Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula the first to come out openly and criticise the coach.
Both Asibwa and Shimanyula believe the selection was not done fairly, but left out players who deserved to make the squad.
Selection discourages young players
“I don’t understand the rationale of calling a player who is unattached especially when his match fitness is questionable having trained alone or with a personal coach,” Asibwa told Flashscore.
“It does not replicate the intensity of competitive matches of the national team calibre. It discourages younger domestic players working hard to catch the eye of the selectors especially when there’s no crisis occasioned by injuries or when the match at hand is just a friendly with not so much at stake.
“Once again, the national team coach has given a wide berth to AFC Leopards players, if what I’ve seen on social media is indeed the team that has been selected. I think there could be a sort of grudge behind these omissions of AFC players.
Asibwa added: “Football people, could some of these foreign teams where our players ply their trade be really far much better than our local teams? Have you ever heard of some of them, their names?”
On AFC Leopards being overlooked despite the team sitting second on the FKF Premier League table behind record champions Gor Mahia, Asibwa said: “The now routine omission or rather wide berth visited on AFC Leopards players by the technical bench of the national team should be a cause for concern.
“Being a gigantic team in this region, for the national team coach to sideline players from AFC tilts to a more underlying reason far from just performance and an insinuation that AFC and many other players cannot improve or way below the standards which in itself is a fallacy.”
Asibwa continued: “Perseverance at times tends to overpower endurance thus the need for a quick response from the national team technical bench as to the reasons behind this demoralising approach.
“Maybe, just maybe there could be a fracture in rapport that puts many of our erstwhile young deserving players in a quagmire that requires intervention from elsewhere, especially from us to mediate and seek out clarification, that's my thinking.
“Remember as time ticks, age moves which leads to missed chances occasioned by this recycling. You can’t be a football powerhouse in your country and miss out on your national team player composition or is it a way of chasing away AFC Leopards fans from the stadia?
Asibwa concluded by posing questions: “Why do you pick unattached players when we have a plethora of other young Kenyan players working hard daily and playing competitive matches with a view of catching the same eye of the technical bench that seems to be blind, does it make sense?
“Why routinely omit AFC Leopards’ players? Isn’t this a sort of discrimination for the many talented Kenyans featuring in the league?”
Are McCarthy and selectors missing a trick?
Meanwhile, Shimanyula singled out the omission of Power Dynamos striker Moses Shumah, who has scored five goals in his last two games and 14 overall in the league, for the poor selection adding should the coach continue favouring selected players, Kenya will not go far in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“It is unfortunate what we are seeing happening to Harambee Stars, the squad selection raises more questions than answers, and if nothing is done quickly to change the trend, then Kenya will no longer be a power house in Africa,” said Shimanyula.
“For example, why don’t we have Shumah in the squad? He is the current top scorer for Dynamos in the Zambian Super League. Recently he scored a hat-trick and followed it up with two goals. He deserves to play for Kenya.
“Is it that coach McCarthy and his selectors don’t have eyes to see what the player is doing and many others? You want to tell me they have not noticed Shumah’s performance in Zambia?”
Kenya have been drawn in a competitive group alongside European side Estonia, Caribbean nation Grenada and regional rivals Rwanda. The FIFA Series will give Harambee Stars an opportunity to build squad chemistry while offering players exposure against teams from different footballing regions.
The team is expected to report to residential camp on March 22 before departing for Rwanda two days later. The FIFA Series comes at a crucial time as Kenya continues preparations for the upcoming 2027 AFCON in East Africa.
Kenya squad for FIFA Series
Goalkeepers: Byrne Omondi, Brian Bwire, Ian Otieno.
Defenders: Frank Odhiambo (Gor Mahia), Aboud Omar (Kenya Police), Sylvester Owino (Gor Mahia), Zak Vyner (Wrexham), Rooney Onyango (Sogndal), Daniel Sakari (Kenya Police).
Midfielders: Alpha Onyango (Gor Mahia), Duke Abuya (Yanga), Richard Odada (FC Uta Arad), Chris Erambo (Tusker FC), Manzur Suleiman (Stade De Reims).
Strikers: Austine Odhiambo (Nejmeh), William Lenkupae (Unattached), Job Ochieng (Real Sociedad), Mohammed Bajaber (Simba FC), Zech Obiero (Tranmere Rovers), Clarke Oduor (Grimsby Town), Michael Olunga (Al Arabi), Ryan Ogam (Wolfsberger), Lawrence Okoth (SJK Seinajoki).
