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Former South African international Benni McCarthy has been confirmed as the head coach of the Kenyan men’s national football team on a two-year deal.

McCarthy was officially unveiled during a ceremony in the capital Nairobi on Monday.

McCarthy takes over from Francis Kimanzi, who had been appointed to lead the team on an interim basis since December. McCarthy’s first games will be back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against Gambia and Gabon later this month.

The 47-year-old enjoyed a successful playing career in South Africa and Europe representing clubs like Orlando Pirates, FC Porto, Blackburn Rovers and Celta Vigo. He retired in 2013 and eventually went into coaching.

McCarthy said he was delighted to join the team and was eager to start the journey to restoring Kenya as one of the powerhouses of African football.

“With the right leaders in charge, with the right coaches, with the right mentality and mindset, and the right work ethic, we can get this team to greater heights,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he was up to the task of leading the Harambee Stars, defending himself against concerns that he did not have the necessary experience to lead a national team.

McCarthy was a first team coach at English Premier League club Manchester United for two years before he left in June last year. Prior to that, he managed South African clubs AmaZulu and Cape Town City and was an assistant manager at Belgian club Saint-Truiden.

“I have gathered a lot of experience working under top coaches that played the game. With all that experience that I have achieved, I want to take all that experience and put it into practice and make the Kenyan national team a success.”

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Hussein Mohammed urged football fans to be patient with McCarthy, adding that they believed that he was the right man for the job.

“He has the fire in the belly. He is one of those coaches who have something to prove, and he has shown that in his interactions,” Mohammed said.

“In our agreement, it’s not more on what we qualify for today. It’s more on performance reward system that rewards the technical bench with every successful performance and qualification. We understand it’s a journey, and it starts somewhere.”

Mohammed also vowed to give McCarthy full control of the team’s technical affairs, pledging not to interfere with the technical bench.

“Nobody in my team will call Benni, will call anybody on the (technical) bench, to force a player down their throat, or to dictate how the coaching will be done. They will be completely independent.”

Mohammed also expressed optimism that there would be no disputes regarding the payment of salaries to McCarthy and his team. In the past, Kenya has struggled to meet the financial obligations to their coaches, resulting in costly legal cases and the threat of sanctions from world football’s governing body, FIFA.

“We are confident that we have gotten the right commitments from our government. I am reassured that we will not be dealing with the same situation, or the problems that we have had in the past.”

“We are working very well with the current government, we are working very well with the Cabinet Secretary. They are all aligned on this recruitment.”