Shilwatso excited by next week’s resumption of international flights

 Harambee Starlets forward Cynthia Shilwatso can breath a sigh of relief following the government’s announcement on resumption of international flights next month as she can finally link up with her Spanish top flight side Logrono.

The global Covid-19 outbreak could not have come at a worse time for the former Vihiga Queens’ player as it cut short her plans join her Spanish side in March.

Shilwatso signed a three-year deal with Logrono in February and was in the process of finalising her travel plans to Spain before the virus outbreak was declared a global pandemic, sending things to a standstill.

A day to her appointment for an interview to get her Visa at the embassy back in March, Shilwatso says she received a message informing her that the embassy would remain closed until further notice in the wake of the coronavirus.

“The resumption of international flight is really good news to me and I am eager to join up with my new club.

I have resumed the process of getting a Visa. I have had to undergo another medical test since the previous one I had taken in February and cannot be used now.

I am hoping to get my Visa in time to travel for pre-season training that is set to kick off next month with the new season set to start in September,” Shilwatso told People Sport.

The Spanish women’s league was pre-maturely ended on May 6 in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

Barcelona were then crowned champions, their fifth title in the competition, while relegations were revoked. Shilwatso’s new home, Logrono, finished seventh on 29 points from 21 matches.

The side had registered  eight wins and as many losses while drawing five matches.

“I have been working hard to stay fit while hoping that the chance to travel will present itself sooner.

I had signed a three-year deal and seeing that we have lost several months of the deal, I am yet to find out if that will affect how long my stay at Las Guanas Stadium will last. That is a clarification I am hoping will be done when I get there,” Shilwatso said.

Shilwatso last featured for the national team at the Council of East and Central Africa (Cecafa) championship held in Tanzania where they emerged the winners.

She had opted to stay out of Starlets’ squad that did duty in a Turkish Cup championship early this year, where the team played against teams from Northern Ireland, Chile and Ghana, as she followed up her visa processing. Her place was instead taken up by Zetech’s Fosca Nashivanda.

The youngster was among several Starlets’ players who landed professional deals between January and February following the team’s stellar performance at the CECAFA championship and the Olympics qualifiers.

Starlets beat Tanzania 2-0 to clinch their first CECAFA title. In the Olympics qualifiers, they reached the penultimate round falling to Zambia 3-2 on aggregate.