Heartbreak as Kenya Police miss ticket to Caf Women’s Champions League
Kenya Police Bullets midfielder Tereza Engesha (left) controls the ball during the match against South Sudan's Yei Joint Stars at Kigali Pelé Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda on August 29, 2026.
What you need to know:
- The Kenyan champions, coached by David Vijago, had reached the final after thrashing South Sudan’s Yei Joint 5-1 in Saturday’s semi-final.
- The 11-day tournament carried added significance, with the winners earning a place at the sixth edition of the Caf Women’s Champions League.
Kenya Police Bullets have missed out on a place in the Caf Women’s Champions League after losing 1-0 to Uganda’s Kawempe Muslim in the final match of Cecafa region qualifiers on Monday at Kigali Pele Stadium in Rwanda.
The match ended goalless after 90 minutes but Kawempe midfielder, Agnes Nabukenya, scored the decisive goal for her team in the 100th minute of extra time.
The Kenyan champions, coached by David Vijago, had reached the final after thrashing South Sudan’s Yei Joint 5-1 in Saturday’s semi-final.
They had topped Group ‘C’ with six points after beating Tanzania’s Simba Queens 2-1 and Burundi’s Top Girls Academy 3-1.
Sole ticket
The defeat means that Bullets have lost both finals they have contested in the regional tournament. In 2024, the team also lost 1-0 to Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), narrowly missing out on qualification for the continental competition.
Bullets finished third last year under the tutelage of former coach Beldine Odemba.
The 11-day tournament carried added significance, with the winners earning the region’s sole ticket to the sixth edition of the Caf Women’s Champions League for the first time.
Caf is yet to announce the host country for the continental tournament.
Regional crown
Kenya hosted the inaugural Cecafa Women’s Champions League qualifiers in Nairobi in 2021, when four-time Football Kenya Federation Women Premier (FKF-WPL) champions Vihiga Queens won the title and represented the region at the continental tournament in Egypt.
No Kenyan club participated in the 2022 competition because Kenya was under a Fifa suspension. Three-time FKF-WPL champions Thika Queens, who later became Kenya Police Bullets, also missed the competition before the club changed its name in the 2023/24 season.
Vihiga Queens returned in 2023 and finished third after Kenya’s suspension was lifted, before Bullets took over as the country’s representatives.
Bullets finished runners-up in 2024 and third in 2025 when it was hosted in Nairobi for the second time, but have once again fallen short of securing the regional crown.
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