or Mahia head coach Johnathan McKinstry has revealed his pride in seeing his players get recognised by being included in Kenya’s senior and junior national teams.
K’Ogalo have five players in the provisional Harambee Stars and Rising Stars (U20) squads named for the upcoming Four Nations Tournament with youngsters Paul Ochuoga and Mark Shaban named in Salim Babu’s team while Rooney Onyango, Shariff Musa, and Benson Omala made it to Engin Firat’s squad.
The fact that they are all young players makes McKinstry proud that he is developing the right talents which bodes well not only for Gor Mahia but for Kenya as well.
“It is really good and beyond that, we had another three in the U20 national team. Paul Ochuoga, Joshua Onyango and Mark Shaban all called into that,” said McKinstry.
“To have six [five] players involved between the senior and the U20 national team reflects very well on their work ethic and their development as players but also as a club, it shows the types of players we are trying to bring in.
“It is also not as though they are our older players, Benson and Rooney are only 22 and Shariff is 22 so it is all our young players. It really shows our commitment to develop a young and exciting team here at Gor.”
Of the five, Rooney Onyango has consistently earned a call-up to the national team while Omala made his return to the squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers late last year after an outcry from fans and he has retained his place.
Sharrif Musa is a new entrant into the Harambee Stars fold and he will be hoping to make it to the final squad and perform well to earn a consistent call-up like his two team-mates.