FKF responds to McCarthy's revelation on leaving Kenya after Harambee Stars camps

Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy's revelation that he and members of his foreign technical team have been working in Kenya without the required work permits has brought renewed attention to a series of administrative and welfare problems surrounding the national team.

McCarthy said he has spent about one-and-a-half years in Kenya without the necessary work permit, forcing him and members of his technical staff to leave the country after national team assignments rather than remain in Kenya between camps.

The South African coach said the situation has prevented him from staying in Kenya to follow domestic matches and players consistently.

“I always come around, do my job, and go back because I don't have a work permit,” McCarthy said in comments made public on September 23.

He said he did not want to remain in Kenya while lacking the documentation required to work legally.

The revelation has since prompted Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to acknowledge the problem, saying it is working with relevant government agencies to complete the process.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, FKF said it was aware of concerns surrounding the work permits of McCarthy and some members of his technical team.

The federation said the required documentation is being processed with the relevant government agencies and that it is following up to have the matter concluded.

FKF described the work-permit issue as an administrative matter and noted that McCarthy and members of his technical bench have travelled in and out of Kenya while carrying out their national-team duties.

The admission effectively confirms that the documentation remains unresolved despite McCarthy having been in charge of Harambee Stars since his appointment in March 2025.

Under Kenya's immigration framework, foreign nationals employed in the country generally require the appropriate work authorisation, with a Class D permit covering specific employment for a person with skills or qualifications considered unavailable in Kenya.

McCarthy's complaint has also shed light on why he has rarely been seen around the Kenyan domestic game between international assignments.

According to his account, he and his foreign technical staff leave Kenya after national-team camps because they do not want to remain in the country without the required documentation.

That creates a practical problem for a national-team coaching staff expected to monitor players across the country.

Instead of remaining in Kenya between international windows, McCarthy has described a pattern of arriving for camp, doing the assignment and leaving.

He has linked this directly to the unresolved work-permit issue.

The documentation problem is unfolding at the same time as a separate dispute over money owed to Harambee Stars players.

Players reportedly declined to train after reporting to camp ahead of Kenya's 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Eritrea, with outstanding allowances among their grievances. Reports put some of the disputed payments at about Ksh80,000 per player for previous assignments.

McCarthy has backed the players' concerns, saying some members of the squad had gone through four or five camps without receiving promised allowances.

He questioned how players could be expected to remain committed to national-team assignments when payments repeatedly go unresolved.

The dispute has also included complaints over accommodation and travel arrangements, adding a welfare dimension to the financial dispute.

FKF says some payments have now been cleared

The federation said the Ministry of Sports had confirmed that an outstanding payment relating to a previous Harambee Stars assignment had been cleared and was expected to reflect on Thursday, September 24.

However, FKF acknowledged that other payments relating to national-team preparations and allowances remain at different stages of processing.

The federation said it was in regular communication with the Ministry and relevant offices to resolve the outstanding payments.

The latest dispute comes just days before Kenya's next major assignment.

Harambee Stars are scheduled to face Eritrea at Nyayo National Stadium on September 26 in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign before travelling to Conakry to face Guinea on October 1.