Kenya’s national football team Harambee Stars has started preparation ahead of next month’s Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar, a tournament designed for Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to prepare for the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) which the three countries will co-host.

Kenya is under a new technical bench, led by Francis Kimanzi, who will be deputized by Zedekiah Otieno and John Kamau.

The coaches have called in a huge group of players, as they begin sifting down towards the final squad that will do duty at the CHAN tourney.

“We are done with the first session and we have involved a huge team because this is still the beginning of testing all the players and we had some moments to get the tests done and introduction of some tactics on the pitch to help us do selection,” Kimanzi said after the first training session.

The coach adds; “We have big number and we are looking at what is ahead of us, that is CHAN and we have to build a team. For now the target and focus is Mapinduzi Cup but the bigger picture is CHAN.”

Kenya is playing at the CHAN tournament for the first time ever and Kimanzi hopes the team will make a positive impact.

Kimanzi believes the Mapinduzi Cup will give him and the technical team a good opportunity to see who is ready for the final CHAN team, but will also keep the larger squad on toes.