Cameroon set to jet in for Harambee Starlets showdown
What you need to know:
- The Lionesses of Cameroon are expected to touch down at 8.30pm Friday before they take on their Kenyan counterparts from 3pm at the Safaricom Stadium, Kasarani.
- The return match has been scheduled for November 5 in Cameroon.
Cameroon’s national women’s football team is expected in the country on Friday ahead of Saturday’s international friendly match against Harambee Starlets.
The Lionesses of Cameroon are expected to touch down at 8.30pm Friday before they take on their Kenyan counterparts from 3pm at the Safaricom Stadium, Kasarani.
The return match has been scheduled for November 5 in Cameroon.
Both teams will be using the match to prepare for the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations that begins next month in Cameroon, and coach David Ouma has termed the Lionesses “worthy opponents” ahead of the showdown.
“Cameroon will no doubt be worthy opponents because they have appeared in the Cup of Nations 11 times. The team also has been around for longer compared to us so there will be a lot to learn from them,” Ouma told Daily Nation Sport.
“We are playing them home and away, but we shall not be focusing much on the results. The aim of the game is to learn as much as possible from them and also to find out which areas we need to strengthen or improve before Afcon.”
Lionesses and Starlets have been pooled in alternate Groups A and B of the Awcon respectively, with bookmakers predicting a Cameroon-Nigeria showdown for the title.
Starlets have had elaborate preparations for next month’s tournament, and were expected in the country yesterday morning but their flight was cancelled by Air Morocco due to unforeseen technicalities.
They have been in Morocco for the last eight days during which they thrashed Moroccan league sides Wydad Casablanca 8-1 on Saturday evening in Casablanca before collecting a 6-1 victory against CAK Khenifra in Rabat on Monday.
In next month’s competition, Starlets will play all their group matches at the 20,000-seater Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Limbe, some 303km South-West of Yaounde.
They are scheduled to begin their maiden campaign with a tough match against Ghana on November 20, before taking on Mali two days later.
They will then wrap up their group matches with a daunting task against defending champions Nigeria on November 26.
