Harambee Starlets report to camp
What you need to know:
- Starlets will play Morocco away in Marrakech on October 16, before returning home to tackle Cameroon (October 22) and Egypt (October 28).
- Starlets coach David Ouma Thursday named 28 players to begin preparations for Kenya’s first ever appearance at the Cup of Nations finals.
- Starlets were drawn in a tough Group B alongside Mali, Ghana and defending champions Nigeria.
National women’s football team Harambee Starlets will report for residential camp Friday afternoon at Safaricom Stadium Kasarani in readiness for next month’s Africa Women Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.
At the same time, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has lined up three friendly matches for the team against Egypt, Cameroon and Morocco ahead of the competition.
According to FKF, Starlets will play Morocco away in Marrakech on October 16, before returning home to tackle Cameroon (October 22) and Egypt (October 28).
Starlets coach David Ouma Thursday named 28 players to begin preparations for Kenya’s first ever appearance at the Cup of Nations finals.
Team manager Doreen Nabwire, who made a surprise return to active football during the Cecafa Women Championship held last month in Jinja, as well as striker Esse Akida and Thika Queens’ forward Mary Kinuthia have all been named in the squad.
Star forward Mwanahalima Adam, who was instrumental in Kenya’s journey to the Nations Cup finals, has, however, been left out as she is sitting her end of year exams at St. John Kaloleni Secondary School in Kilifi next month.
Skipper Kinuthia Thursday urged her teammates to forget the Cecafa heartbreak and concentrate on the task ahead. Starlets lost 2-1 to Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro Queens in the Cecafa in Jinja, Uganda.
“This is one of the best years of my career. I have enjoyed the good performances that we have had as a team and I like it that the women’s league is going on with no disruptions,” said Kinuthia.
“Our last match in Uganda was disappointing. We lost an important game. But I urge the girls to put that behind them and focus on the real tournament in Cameroon,” she added.
“We have played a number of international matches, which have had a positive impact on the team. Our ambition is to put Kenya on the map in Cameroon. I believe it is possible to beat many of those more experienced teams,” said Kinuthia.
Starlets were drawn in a tough Group B alongside Mali, Ghana and defending champions Nigeria.
Ouma’s charges qualified for the finals on away goals rule after holding Algeria to a 3-3 aggregate draw.
They have had a busy schedule since then, including friendly matches against European clubs in the COTIF tournament in July as well as last month’s Cecafa Women’s Championship where they won four matches before losing 2-1 to Tanzania in the final.