Junior Starlets to face Uganda in 2025 World Cup qualifier
Kenya U-17 women's team coach Mildred Cheche issues instructions to her players from the touchline during a 2024 Fifa U-17 World Cup qualifying match against Burundi in Nairobi on June 16, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Several withdrawals in the first round—Zimbabwe vs Ethiopia, Eswatini vs Tanzania, Congo vs Benin, and Togo vs Guinea—saw Ethiopia, Tanzania, Guinea, and Benin advance to the second round.
- From 2025, the U17 competition will be held annually with 24 participating nations. Morocco will host the tournament from 2025 through 2029, with the first African edition scheduled for October 16 to November 3, 2025.
Kenya’s Junior Starlets will face Uganda in the second round of the 2025 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers in March.
The first leg is scheduled between March 7-9, with the second leg set for March 14-16.
Uganda advanced after an impressive 18-0 aggregate victory over Namibia. They won the return leg 8-0 at Hamz Stadium in Nakivubo on Sunday, following a 10-0 win in the first leg at the same venue last Thursday.
Kenya, alongside Zambia and Nigeria—Africa’s representatives at the 2024 FIFA U17 World Cup in the Dominican Republic last October—received a bye in the first round.
The Junior Starlets, coached by Mildred Cheche, made history as the first Kenyan football team to compete on the global stage.
In the 2024 tournament, they were grouped in Group 'C' with defending champions North Korea, semifinalists England, and 2018 finalists Mexico. The Kenyan girls finished third in the group with three points after a memorable 2-1 victory over Mexico in their final match.
Burundi also advanced to the second round as the best non-qualifying team from the previous rounds.
If Kenya progresses to the third round, they will face the winner between Egypt and Cameroon or Zimbabwe and Ethiopia in the final round of qualifiers. These matches are scheduled for April 18-20 (first leg) and April 25-27 (second leg).
Teams that advance to the final round will compete for a spot in the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
In another qualifier fixture on Saturday, Cameroon defeated Egypt 5-0 on aggregate to advance to the second round.
Several withdrawals in the first round—Zimbabwe v Ethiopia, Eswatini vs Tanzania, Congo v Benin, and Togo v Guinea—saw Ethiopia, Tanzania, Guinea, and Benin advance to the second round.
From 2025, the U17 competition will be held annually with 24 participating nations. Morocco will host the tournament from 2025 through 2029, with the first African edition scheduled for October 16 to November 3, 2025.
First Round Results
Namibia 0-10 Uganda
Egypt 0-5 Cameroon
DR Congo 2-0 Niger
Gabon 1-12 South Africa
Tunisia 0-1 Algeria
Côte d’Ivoire 1-1 Senegal
Sierra Leone 0-0 Central African Republic
