Harambee Stars’ head coach, Engin Firat, has raised concerns over Kenya’s participation in the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers, questioning the logic behind playing these matches despite already being assured of a spot in the tournament.

Kenya, alongside Tanzania and Uganda, is set to co-host the CHAN, a competition for players active in African leagues. However, despite their automatic qualification as hosts, Harambee Stars found themselves competing in the qualifiers, starting off with a 2-0 defeat to South Sudan away from home on Sunday.

Firat, who assembled his squad swiftly before the trip to Sudan, criticised the decision to participate in the qualifiers, suggesting that it led to a lackluster performance from his team. According to Firat, the lack of stakes in the match may have caused his players to approach the game without urgency.

“It does not make sense to me, especially when these are professional players who are accustomed to playing for something meaningful, but now they have nothing to play for,” Firat commented after the match.

“This is not a small matter; it’s the core of sports—to have something to play for. If you are a regular person, this affects you mentally. Knowing you have a match but no real incentive makes you cautious, thinking of injuries or the next game. These kinds of matches don’t make sense to me, and I don’t see how the players could benefit from them.”

Kenya’s defeat came after second-half goals from Ezibon Malish and Yohanna Paulino. Firat believes that his side could have secured a better result if they had capitalized on their scoring opportunities.

Despite featuring seasoned players like Bryne Omondi, Geoffrey Ochieng, Ronney Onyango, Austin Odhiambo, Sydney Lokale, Daniel Sakari, and Musa Mohammed, Harambee Stars struggled to assert themselves against South Sudan.

The return leg is scheduled for Sunday, November 3, in Uganda, where Kenya will seek to overturn the deficit. The winner of the two-legged fixture will advance to face either Rwanda or Djibouti in the final qualifying round.