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Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa says it has been a work in progress leading up to the Junior Starlets’ first-ever World Cup qualification.

Mwendwa detailed some of the progress in women’s football, including the Harambee Starlets’ first-ever qualification for the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in 2016, and later the Kenya U20 girls narrowly missing out after a loss to Ghana.

Mwendwa on progress

The FKF boss mentioned that he was confident the Starlets would have been in the World Cup held in New Zealand/Australia if their journey had not been cut short by a FIFA ban.

“It’s a great day. This is work that has been in progress for 10 years. In 2016, we first qualified for AFCON, though we did not do well, but it was our first time in history. I remember that year I said that women’s football is the single area of growth in Kenya,” Mwendwa told the press after the match.

“If you remember, we lost to Ghana in Machakos with the U20, and that U20 became our national team. We missed Australia and New Zealand because of being suspended.”

He believes the Junior Starlets are not perfect but reveled in the side’s ability to avoid conceding a goal in the qualifiers and having a large turnout and viewership for the final qualification match against Burundi.

“Now the U17 have not conceded a goal. They are not there yet, but we have a fantastic team. They have learned how to win. For the first time, I think 15,000 fans watched. I have asked at FIFA and I have been told it is rare to have such kind of viewership for U17 girls,” he added.

The Junior Starlets achieved a historic milestone, becoming the first Kenyan national team to qualify for a World Cup.

This remarkable feat follows their 5-0 aggregate victory over Burundi in the fourth and final round of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

Decisive match

The decisive match took place on Sunday, June 16, 2024, at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.

Kenya entered the game with a three-goal advantage from their first-leg encounter in Ethiopia. Marion Serenge opened the scoring in the 17th minute, giving Kenya an early lead.

Just four minutes later, Valerie Nekesa doubled the advantage, effectively securing Kenya’s place on the global stage.

Throughout the qualifiers, the Junior Starlets have displayed exceptional defensive and offensive prowess, not conceding a single goal while scoring eight.

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