Shabana FC have appointed Egyptian coach Ahmed Fathi Abdalla Ibrahim for the upcoming 2026/2027 season and renowned Rwandan fitness coach Hategekimana Corneille as their new fitness trainer.
The two were unveiled in Nairobi on Friday as Shabana, who finished fifth last season with 52 points after 34 matches, won only 14 fixtures while losing and drawing 10 games each.
The club’s hierarchy appointed former player Mark Ongwae to take charge of the remainder of the season after firing Peter Okidi over poor results midway through the campaign. However, Okidi lamented that some of his top players were involved in match-fixing.
“There is not much you can do when your top players decide to give away a match,” he told the media after he was dismissed.
“You spend a lot of time preparing a team only to lose, but when you analyse the situation, you find that someone you trusted to deliver results has been compromised,” Okidi lamented.
The newly appointed Fakhri is a CAF A Licence coach with more than 15 years of experience in professional football. Although this is only his second job as a head coach, he has spent much of his career learning under experienced managers in Egypt’s highly competitive Premier League.
During that time, he worked with clubs such as Ismaily, El Gouna, El Dakhleya, National Bank of Egypt and Ghazl El Mahalla, where he earned a reputation for tactical organisation, detailed match preparation and strong analytical skills.
His first opportunity to lead a club came in July 2025 when newly promoted Ghana Premier League side Swedru All Blacks appointed him on a two-year deal. However, his first spell as a head coach did not go according to plan.
Swedru All Blacks struggled to adapt to life in the Ghana Premier League, winning just two of their opening 10 matches as the club slipped into the relegation zone. Pressure quickly mounted, and some supporters began calling for a change in the dugout.
In January 2026, Fakhri and the club parted ways by mutual consent, with Swedru All Blacks stating that health-related reasons had contributed to his departure.
Corneille, on the other hand, arrives with a wealth of experience, having previously served as fitness coach at Tanzanian giants Simba SC before taking up a strength and conditioning role with Rwanda’s Rayon Sports back home.
Shabana are also expected to enter the market for new signings, considering that Osborne Monday, who had been brought in to assist Ongwae in the coaching department, has already left and signed for Nairobi United to assist incoming Belgian coach Patrick Aussems.