Kenya coach McCarthy faces criticism over squad selection criteria

Kenya national team coach Benni McCarthy has come under heavy criticism for snubbing AFC Leopards players in his Harambee Stars squad for international assignments.

The South African legend recently named a squad for the upcoming November FIFA international break where Harambee Stars is scheduled to play two friendly matches against Madagascar and Comoros in Antalya, Turkey.

However, in the squad, McCarthy failed to name a player from Kenyan Premier League side AFC Leopards, with their rivals Gor Mahia providing five, namely goalkeeper Byrne Omondi, defenders Sylvester Owino, and Michael Kibwage, midfielders Alpha Onyango, and Austin Odhiambo.

Process of selections raises concerns

According to AFC Leopards legend Reginald Asibwa, McCarthy’s selection criteria was raising concerns and something urgent must be done for a fair selection criteria before things get out of hand.

“When I watch the Kenyan Premier League, it’s difficult to identify any team that is way ahead of the rest in terms of very high-quality top-level players,” said Asibwa as quoted by Flashscore.

“The rate at which AFC Leopards players are being overlooked in the recent past when naming even provisional squads for the national team is indeed wanting.”

He added: “I am not privy to the criteria used, but the process of selecting players raises concerns in terms of the yardstick used. I think if our level of football has gone down or up as a country, I think this should be across the board.”

Asibwa, who helped AFC Leopards to win Premier League title during the last 80s and 90s, added: “Please, those involved in selection, let it not be the case of witch-hunt, maligning AFC Leopards and/or treating our players unfairly.

“How can one explain when a player leaves AFC Leopards today, tomorrow they’re called to the national team? This isn’t good at all. In fact, I don’t think Kenya has a database containing all statistics regarding performances for all Kenyan players, which could have been the basis for inclusion or omission.”

After a poor start to the current campaign, AFC Leopards have gone ahead to register two back-to-back wins against KCB and Sofapaka. Ingwe are lying fifth in the 18-team table with nine points from five matches.