Days after coach Engin Firat (54) warned Cameroon: “Kenya is not afraid of you”, he has come out to reveal concerns that could derail Harambee Stars’ chances of getting a positive result against the Indomitable Lions in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) double-headed qualifier set for October.

Harambee Stars will continue with their quest to qualify for a seventh appearance at the 35th edition of the biennial African football tournament to be held in Morocco between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026 when they face Cameroon in back-to-back Group J fixtures. Kenya will travel for the first meeting on October 7th before facing the same side in a home leg encounter on October 15th.

The first encounter against the Indomitable Lions will be crucial for Firat’s charges as they seek to cement their top spot in the group. Kenya are currently leading the group with four points accrued from their opening 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe in Uganda on September 6th, before they recovered to beat Namibia 2-1 in their matchday two at Orlando Stadium in South Africa on September 10th.

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Meanwhile, Cameroon are second with four points, amassed from their 1-0 win against the Brave Warriors and 0-0 draw against the Warriors of Zimbabwe. The Turkish tactician has sent a passionate request to the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Sports to ensure that Harambee Stars gets a chartered plane for the trip to face Cameroon.

According to the former Moldovia coach, Cameroon have resorted to play the fixture against Kenya in a remote area and not in Yaounde or Doula, something he argued will negatively affect his players’ ambition to get a positive result.

Investigations by Flashscore indicate the Cameroon vs Kenya fixture will be played in a remote town called Garoua, a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. Roumde Adjia Stadium, which holds 30,000 people, was built in 1978 and was one of the arenas that hosted the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), will stage the fixture.

The calculated flying distance from Yaounde to Garoua is equal to 397 miles which is equal to 639 km while the driving distance from Yaounde to Garoua is 941 kilometers (585 miles).

“It is crucial for us that the government helps us with a chartered flight or otherwise the players will be too tired to get any result or something from the game, I ask the Ministry of Sports to help us with a chartered flight for such games,” Firat said as quoted by Flashscore.

“We have this situation, Cameroon will not play in Yaounde or Doula, so they will play somewhere inside (remote area), it means there is not direct flight to enter, if you don’t have any chartered flight then it will be a big nightmare to arrive there, and will be another nightmare when trying to go back from there (after the game).”

Firat further explained why the Kenyan government should chip in and help the team with a chartered flight. “Therefore, it is like in every other country when they ask the government, the government of course helps the national team, with a chartered flight.

“Otherwise, like I said, you have no chance to play these matches under such situations, if you have to go, I don’t know three stops (before reaching your destination), and you have to wait I don’t know in every stop how many hours before proceeding with the journey, it will be a difficult situation for my players and that is for sure.”

Firat’s request comes a few days after he had sent a warning to Cameroon to anticipate a tough fixture against Harambee Stars. After the Namibia game, which Kenya won 2-1 courtesy of second-half goals from John Avire and Duke Abuya, Firat was asked what Kenyans should expect from the Cameroon game.

He responded: “Do you think Kenya is an easy team? Cameroon should think about how they want to crack Kenya, we are not afraid of Cameroon, you saw the boys, how they played before against Ivory Coast, against Russia, against Qatar? If we have our full squad, then it will not be nice for Cameroon, I promise.”