Table of Contents
- Benni McCarthy is a Cape Town native
- He comes from a family of footballers
- He has footprints in the English Premier League (EPL)
Who is Benni McCarthy the new Harambee Stars coach in Kenya? He was unveiled on Monday, March 3 in Nairobi in an event attended by Hussein Mohammed, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) boss.
The position fell vacant following the resignation of former coach Engin Firat. He cut ties with the Kenyan national team in December 2024 over a barrage of issues, the major one being unpaid dues.
He was under pressure following a failed attempt by Harambee Stars to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Now, the former South African striker is the man entrusted to open a new chapter for Harambee Stars in the history of Kenyan football. He takes over from Francis Kimanzi who was the interim coach since Firat’s exit in December 2024.
Who is Benni McCarthy?
For a team with 39 coaches since inception in 1961, questions on who is Benny McCarthy abound. McCarthy is a South African national born on November 12, 1977, and named Benedict Saul McCarthy.
Former West Ham player and ex-Manchester United Coach Benni McCarthy is now the coach for Harambee Stars. Photo/BBC
Benni McCarthy Early Life
McCarthy, the new Harambee Stars coach is Cape Town native. He was brought up in Hanover Park in the Cape Flats area. He comes from a family of footballers. His elder brother Jerome McCarthy is a retired Manning Rangers and Kaizer Chiefs player. Mark McCarthy, his younger brother also played football for Franklin Pierce University in the US.
He grew up loving football mostly due to Jerome’s influence and also as a route to escape unemployment in his hood at Cape Flats.
Here is a summary of his biography
| Full name | Benedict Saul McCarthy |
| Age | 47 |
| Date of birth | November 12, 1977 |
| Place of birth | Cape Town |
| Nationality | South African |
| Occupation | Football coach |
| Source of wealth | Football |
| Occupation | Coach |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft) |
Benni McCarthy Career
The Harambee Stars coach started his football career at a local Cape Town football club, Young Pirates. His uncles ran the club. They helped onboard him before switching to another amateur club, Crusaders. He performed tremendously well and earned a signing by Seven Stars, a first-division South African club in 1995 when he was only 18. One season later, he moved to Cape Town Spurs, a club that gives a perfect history of who is Benni McCarthy.
Cape Town Spurs merged with Seven Stars in 1998 where he played for another season until 1999 when he moved to Spanish club Celta Vigo. Sadly, he didn’t impress for two seasons and he was loaned to Porto in 2001. He played for one season under Jose Mourinho and returned to Celta in 2003 and stayed until 2006.
McCarthy signed with English club Blackburn Rovers in 2006 and played for the club until 2009 before signing with English Premier League club West Ham United in 2010. While still on who is Benni McCarthy, he only played for one season at West Ham despite signing a two-and-a-half-year contract. McCarthy would later sign with Orlando Pirates for two seasons and ended his football playing career at Whitehill Welfare in 2014. Essentially, his days as an active footballer, his career took him to the following clubs:
- Young Pirates
- Crusaders
- Seven Stars
- Celta Vigo
- Porto
- Blackburn Rovers
- West Ham
- Orland Pirates
- Whitehill Welfare
Benni McCarthy Coaching Career
After calling in time as a footballer, he transitioned to coaching. Here are the clubs McCarthy coached.
- Hibernian (2015)
- Sint-Truiden (2015 – 2016)
- Cape Town City (2017 – 2019)
- AmaZulu (2020 – 2022)
- Manchester United (2022 – 2024)
- Harambee Star – Current
Did Benni McCarthy Play for Manchester United?
Benni McCarthy during his stint as a first-team coach at Manchester United during Erik ten Hag’s time at Old Trafford. Photo/ESPN
Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy never played for Manchester United. However, he joined the club as a first-team coach in 2022 under former manager Erik ten Hag. His focus was training players on attacking play. His stint at Old Trafford prompts queries on who is Benny McCarthy, the South African ex-footballer coaching one of the top four EPL clubs.
Benni McCarthy Stats
Below are comprehensive stats of the newly-named Harambee Stars coach Benny McCarthy.
| Team | Appearances | Goals |
| Celta Vigo | 36 | 20 |
| Ajax (merged from Seven Stars) | 66 | 10 |
| FC Porto | 85 | 46 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 109 | 37 |
| West Ham United | 11 | 0 |
| Orlando Pirates | 24 | 10 |
Benni McCarthy Salary
McCarthy will earn $17,000 (Ksh2.2 million) as Harambee Stars coach. The South African coach is hopeful of turning around the football fortunes of Kenya’s national team. McCarthy noted that he sees a lot of potential with Harambee Stars which motivated him to take up the offer to coach the team.
Top on his agenda is the 2026 World Cup qualification which he believes Kenya has the potential to qualify.
