Former Harambee Stars coach Jacob “Ghost” Mulee has said the only solution for the national team to perform well is to abolish the current squad and recruit the U20 players who qualified for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 before the country co-hosts the AFCON 2027 tournament alongside Uganda and Tanzania.
This comes after Kenya was eliminated from the AFCON 2025 tournament which will be held in Morocco following a disappointing 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe on Friday.
Mulee, who led the national team to its first AFCON tournament in 2004 after twelve years of absence, stated that it would be better to focus on the future generation rather than trying to qualify with the current squad.
He believes the only way to prepare for AFCON 2027 is to refresh the team with new talent.
Play here and stand a chance of winning the over 391 Million SportPesa Mega Jackpot
“We need to see what the next way is. If you ask me right now, AFCON 2025 is gone and the World Cup opportunity is slim. So, what do we do and we are supposed to host AFCON 2027?” he posed during an interview on TV47.
“I will say this without thinking twice – integrate the U20 team that has qualified for U20 AFCON 2025.
Get a lot of Harambee Stars players out right now and bring these boys in. We better fail to qualify for World Cup qualifiers with the future generation,” he said.
Mulee, who has had two stints as the national team coach, emphasized that what Kenya’s football needs right now is development and a structured system to educate players. He lamented that many Kenyan players lack the necessary football education.
ALSO READ: ‘Things will get worse’ – Firat warns after Harambee Stars miss AFCON 2025 ticket
“At the end of the day, without football development and a system for educating players, Kenyan football will continue to struggle.
The problem is not physical or endurance-related, it is technical. The only player in Kenya with real football knowledge is Victor Wanyama,” he added.
Ghost also stated that many Kenyan players have suffered due to the lack of proper football development and the solution is to train players from a young age.
“I cannot blame the players. Some Kenyan players are talented, but they’ve suffered because of a lack of football development, and this is what has killed our football.
If we don’t start coaching our players from the age of five, we’re losing it,” he said.
ALSO READ: End of an era as Davis Cup 2024 tournament marks Nadal’s farewell