Harambee Stars Coach Engin Firat Quits

The head coach of Kenya's national football team, Engin Firat, is reported to have resigned. According to reports, the under-fire coach resigned on Wednesday, December 11 bringing an end to his tenure of just over three years.

The Turkish tactician has been under pressure from stakeholders and fans following his failure to secure a ticket to the 35th edition of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament set to be held in Morocco.

His resignation followed a no-nonsense statement from Sports Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen that the government would stop funding Firat’s salary for his failure to take Kenya to Morocco.

“Since we were the ones who were funding the coach as a Ministry, we will upon the period being attained and the circumstances that have befallen the coach, as a result of failing to qualify, it is rather obvious that of course we will implement that section of the law and we will not remit any other funds beyond the period that was agreed,” said Murkomen.

Immediate former Harambee Stars coach, Engin Firat. /X

“I’ve seen the contract of the Harambee Stars coach—it clearly states that if he doesn’t qualify for AFCON, he should exit. Since he failed to meet the contract's conditions, if FKF wants to keep him, they must cover his salary with their own resources."

“I have terminated my contract after this CS (Murkomen) talked so much about me, but let Football Kenya Federation (FKF) make the announcement,” Firat responded in an interview with Flashscore. 

FKF was yet to issue a statement on his resignation by the time of going to press. The former Moldova coach leaves the Harambee Stars after managing 23 matches since replacing Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee. He registered seven wins, seven draws and nine defeats.

His first game in charge saw Kenya suffer a 5-0 defeat against Mali in a World Cup qualifier before he lost 1-0 to the same side. Kenya then drew 1-1 against Uganda and Firat got his first win - 2-1 - against Rwanda.

He then lost 2-1 against Iran in an international friendly, beat Pakistan 1-0, lost 1-0 against Mauritius, beat Qatar 2-1, and lost 1-0 against South Sudan before forcing Russia to a 2-2 draw in his 10th match in charge.

His 11th match took him to Gabon where Kenya suffered a 2-1 defeat but he recovered to hammer Seychelles 5-0. Kenya then thumped Malawi 4-0, before they beat Zimbabwe 3-1 to lift their first-ever trophy - the Four Nation tournament - under Firat.

Kenya started their 2026 World Cup qualifiers with a 1-1 draw against Burundi and a 0-0 draw against African champions Ivory Coast before another goalless draw against Zimbabwe in their 2025 AFCON opener.

They recovered to beat Namibia 2-1, before losing twice to Cameroon - 4-1 and 1-0 - and then 2-0 to South Sudan in the qualifiers for the 2024 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN). Though Kenya has already qualified for CHAN being the host nation, they failed to beat South Sudan in the return fixture drawing 1-1.

Kenya then played Zimbabwe, a game that ended their AFCON dream after drawing 1-1 and concluded their group matches with a 0-0 draw against Namibia.

The announcement comes amid tensions in Kenyan football, including the departure of long-serving FKF President Nick Mwendwa who was replaced by Hussein Mohammed after he won the elections last week.