Migne: France Camp Will Focus Harambee Stars For AFCON Charge

NAIROBI, Kenya- National senior men's football team Harambee Stars is set to depart on Friday for a three-week training camp in France, where coach Sebastien Migne will fine tune his preparations ahead of the country's return to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations after a 15-year absence.

Migne, a Frenchman, has designed the programme to prepare Stars -- ranked 108th in the FIFA world rankings -- for their grueling Group C showdown against 1994 champions Algeria, beaten 2002 finalists Senegal and East African neighbours Tanzania.

Migne said the squad he selected for the tournament that kicks-off on June 21 in Egypt, would benefit from the change in scenery and intensity of the regimen in Marcoussis, France's national rugby training facility just outside Paris.

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His 30-man preliminary squad for the biennial tournament attracted considerable attention and mixed reactions from local football fans who will be eagerly waiting for the start of their opening encounter against Manchester City FC star Riyad Mahrez and fellow Desert Foxes of Algeria on June 23.

The head coach said it was "difficult to stay in the country" and focus with such distractions weighing on his players.

"There were a lot of comments at that time, and we need some peace and quiet to prepare for this competition," Migne told AFP after a training session in Nairobi ahead of their departure for France.

"And the weather was very important to me. During this preparation, we will have many sessions, sometimes three times a day and you can't do that in a hot country.

The 46-year-old Migne added he was "really proud" to bring the team to his home turf for preparation.

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- No looking back -

Football is hugely popular in Kenya but the Stars, the national team, have often been found wanting.

They enter the Cup as underdogs, having only qualified six times since its inception in 1957. They have only ever won one game- when they hammered 2013 losing finalists Burkina Faso 3-0 on their last outing at Tunisia 2004- and never reached the knock-out stages.

Their passage to Egypt for this edition was capped with a surprise victory on home soil over four-time AFCON winners Ghana, one of the continent's top performers.

But Migne has urged his men not to dwell on the past, and focus instead on emerging from the group phase for the first time ever.

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Last year is the past. What is important now is to confirm (our performance)... we're not going to go to Egypt as tourists," he said.

He is banking in part on star Victor Wanyama, the Tottenham midfielder and Kenyan captain, who could play in the Champions League final against Liverpool just days before training for the Cup is to begin.

"The (Champions League) final takes place on June 1. I will let him celebrate his trophy for two days, and on the morning of the 4th, he must be in Marcoussis," said Migne. 

"He knows it, it's a pact we've made," the Frenchman added with a grin.

Stars will play neighbours Tanzania on June 27 before completing their Group C assignments with the tough test with the Lions of Teranga where Liverpool FC ace striker, Sadio Mane is out to fire Senegal to a maiden AFCON on July 1.