Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Many Kenyan sportsmen and women have beaten the odds to become global superstars in different disciplines. Desirous young footballer Vallerie Nekesa could soon or later join the huge list of the athletes who have thrived both at home and abroad through sporting excellence.

The peerless net-buster has pushed herself far and beyond to achieve so much despite her young age and she is definitely moulding her career to football stardom.

The form-two student at the Madira Girls in Vihiga County just turned 16-years old last month. While aged 15 years-old, the ambitious Nekesa scored unfathomable 37 goals in 22 matches to aid her club Madira Assassins to gain promotion to the Kenya Football Federation Women’s Premier League for the first time. She was unstoppable in the Division one league, emerging as the top scorer.

Her beautiful story does not end there, she scored another 13 goals in the Safaricom Chapa Dimba tournament during the Vihiga County edition in August to propel Madira Girls to Western Region finals, although they did not feature in the regional finals since they were engaged with East African School Games in Huye, Rwanda.

That feat of becoming top scorer in the Football Kenya Federation Women’s Division One League and the Safaricom Chapa Dimba (Vihiga County) has brought fortunes to the young and charismatic girl with a dream of changing the ‘situation’ back home through football.

She has begun gathering the attention of the world of football. FC Tut in Egypt has invited the Kenyan goal machine for trials later this year. Should she be successful, she will sign for the Egyptian club which is ready to wait until she completes her education in Kenya, that is in 2025 as revealed by her Madira Assassins coach Nickson Muleri.

“My objective is to play this football game and go far so that I can help my parents (Jane Nanjeho and Charlse Wambongo) and our family at large,” Nekesa breamed.

I quickly ask her in which areas she would like to help her family and she responds: “I would like to help them financially in the near future, for example to buy them land and build them a decent home. Even though they are working, there are a lot of challenges back home and this is really motivating me to work hard in class and on the pitch so that I can change the situation back home,” she noted in a low voice that showed absolute desire of battling the odds to reach her imminent greatness.

Her fearless nature has seen her fight for a place in the senior national football team Harambee Starlets after receiving a maiden call-up.

Nekesa, a third-born in a family of six kids, first impressed when she was called in the under-18 national team that was scheduled to represent Kenya in the CECAFA finals in June 2023.

After performing beyond expectation in training, she earned herself another opportunity in Harambee Starlets and was among the few local-based players who received call-ups for national duty, reporting to camp in readiness for the Cameroon tie.

“Vallerie is a very good player, she has shown a fearless character, something that I personally like to see in players. She is extremely talented. It is difficult to notice age differences on and off the pitch. I am sure this experience will help her shape a future in football for club and the national team and we have to protect