Gor Mahia top official joins calls to sack Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat

There has been growing pressure on Harambee Stars' head coach following recent poor performances, with the prominent Gor Mahia official calling for his dismissal to improve the national team's direction.

Calls to have Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat dismissed have gathered momentum with Gor Mahia’s Secretary General Sam Ocholla becoming the latest figure to voice discontent over the Turkish tactician's performance.

Ocholla, who is also vying for the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) presidency, strongly believes that Firat lacks the ability to elevate the national team’s status.

According to him, Firat’s recent achievements, including a win over Namibia and a draw against Zimbabwe, are mere “lucky results” that do not reflect sustainable growth for Harambee Stars.

“Firat should go home, those are just lucky results—beating Namibia and drawing against Zimbabwe in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers—and I can tell you that we are crawling as a national team,” Ocholla remarked as per Citizen.

Highlighting what he perceives as Firat’s inadequate qualifications, Ocholla further stated that Gor Mahia’s head coach Leonardo Martins Neiva possesses stronger credentials.

Ocholla explained that when Gor Mahia advertised for the head coach position, they received applications from around 15 international coaches with extensive qualifications, a list that he claims put Firat’s credentials to shame.

“When you want to appoint Harambee Stars head coach, you should consider the merits and demerits. When we advertised for Gor Mahia's head coach vacancy, we got around 15 international coaches. I can tell you that their credentials were far more professional and better than Firat's,” he emphasized.

Ocholla also criticized Firat’s selection of players, suggesting that external influences within the FKF might be compromising the process.

The football administrator went as far as alleging that Firat may be “remote-controlled” in his choice of players, which, he claims, undermines the team’s overall performance and morale.

“When you look at how he is making the selection of players, you wonder which kind of a coach is this. He comes from abroad then takes the job knowing very well that the national team squad will be manipulated and he will be remote-controlled on who to give a call-up and who not to,” Ocholla stated.

This alleged manipulation has reportedly affected players from Gor Mahia who, according to Ocholla, are often called up but rarely given playing time.

He claims this has left many of Gor Mahia’s players frustrated, questioning the purpose of being called up if they do not get the opportunity to play.

“The federation’s hand has subjected our team to an average side, and when they happen to call our players—Gor Mahia—they don’t give them a chance to play, to an extent that the players were complaining about what is the reason for the call-up if at all they were not going to play,” Ocholla explained.

Despite the ongoing criticism, Harambee Stars are currently preparing for the return leg match against South Sudan scheduled for Sunday at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala.

Kenya will be looking to bounce back from last week’s loss to South Sudan a team that also managed to defeat Harambee Stars in an international friendly last year.

The winner of this two-legged tie will proceed to the final qualification round, facing either Rwanda or Djibouti in December.

Kenya has already secured a spot in the 2025 CHAN tournament as one of the co-hosts alongside Uganda and Tanzania.