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Women’s Premier League champions Vihiga Queens require close to Sh4 million to prepare for the inaugural Cecafa Women’s Champions League expected to take place in July in Kenya.

Apart from financial challenges, the team is also having a hard time training as a unit with players being made to train in groups of three  due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Vihiga head coach Alex Alumira is concerned that the opposing teams are continuing with their preparations while his team is hampered by restrictions.

“At the moment I am being forced to monitor the players through social media where they get some instructions on what they should do.

Remember this only improves fitness levels which is just one of the many attributes that contribute to the perfect performance of a player,” said Alumira.

“We are also trying to work on skills whereby players operate in groups of three but we are disadvantaged a bit because it requires group training but we are hopeful with time the team will be ready.

“I have been analysing my players and one area that we are working on is finishing where we have been struggling a lot to kill the matches. We create many chances but our conversion rate is wanting.’’ 

He, however, revealed that with the availability of Harambee Starlets winger Jentrix Shikangwa who has completed her high school he feels that many goals will come.

“It’s not about one player we have to build a strong team spirit but I want to welcome her back.

The team has struggled a lot during her absence. Her presence in the national team has improved her confidence and given her good exposure and experience,” he added.

Captain Enes Mango revealed that they are ready for the Cecafa championship and thanked the Football Federation of Kenya for giving them the opportunity to represent the country at the top level.

“I am also grateful to the Vihiga County government who are our sponsor for the support together with the technical bench that has sacrificed a lot to ensure that we get the right preparations mentally, physically, and tactically,” Mango said.

Vihiga Queens who have won the Kenya Women’s Premier three times in a row are scheduled to represent the country in the tournament set to kick off from July 17.