Benni McCarthy has been named as the new coach of Kenya and will have just three weeks to get his side ready for two key World Cup qualifiers later this month.

McCarthy, 47, signed a contract that has been on the table with the Kenya Football Federation since December.

He will have former Richards Bay coach Vasili Manousakis and former South Africa and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs as his assistants.

They will make their debut in charge later this month as the Harambee Stars go away to take on Gambia and then host Gabon at home.

The exact dates and venues for the qualifiers are still to be announced but both are key to Kenya’s hopes of a first ever World Cup place as they sit fourth in Group F with five points from their opening four games, five points behind leaders Ivory Coast. Kenya still have six qualifiers to play

Kenya will be co-hosts, with neighbours Tanzania and Uganda, of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals but did not qualify for the 2025 finals in Morocco.

McCarthy takes up the job some nine months after leaving Manchester United, where he was on the coaching staff of Erik ten Hag.

Prior to that he coached at Cape Town City and AmaZulu, who he took from a place in the relegation zone to second place after being appointed midway through the 2020-21 Premier Soccer League season.

McCarthy’s extensive playing experience includes winning the Uefa Champions League with Porto, the only South African international to achieve the feat. His 31 goals for Bafana Bafana remain a record.

McCarthy is the ninth South African to coach a national team of another country following in the footsteps of Thomas ‘Zero’ Johnson at Botswana, Mlungisi ‘Professor’ Ngubane with Namibia, Ephraim Mashaba with Eswatini and Thabo Senong at Lesotho. Botswana last month named Morena Ramoreboli as their new coach.

South African-born Styles Phumo and Moses Maliehe also coached Lesotho, but were also citizens of the mountain kingdom. Bruce Grobbelaar was born in Durban but was a player and coach for Zimbabwe.