Kenya’s Junior Starlets on Sunday beat Namibia 2-1 in Windhoek in the first round of the 2026 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
Kenya scored goals through Lindey Weey and Faith Boke in either half of the match.
The first leg fixture was played at Unam Stadium in Namibia’s capital, Windhoek. Junior Starlets will host the return leg on Saturday from 3pm at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
The winner of the match between Kenya and Namibia will come up against the winner of the fixture between Uganda and Zimbabwe in the second round of the qualifiers.
On Sunday evening, Uganda defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 at Ngoni Stadium in Harare, with goals from Immaculate Acen and Lydia Nameseruka in the 17th and 23rd minutes.
Kenya’s coach, Mildred Cheche, started with Mishel Ng’ono in goal, and a defence line of Grace Mumo, assistant captain Brenda Awuor, Rose Nangila, and Gaundancia Maloba. Kenya’s midfield comprised Mwanakombo Bakari, Captain Beverline Awuor, and Faith Boke, while Lindey Weey, Brenda Achieng and Emily Adhiambo led the attack.
Weey capitalised on defensive mistakes by Namibia to score Kenya’s first goal in the third minute of the match via a long-range shot. Butere Girls High School student Boke doubled Kenya’s advantage just two minutes later. The hosts scored the consolation in the 87th minute through Teyanna Awases.
The 16-year-old Weey is a Grade 10 student at Madira Girls High School, and also plays for Soccer Assassins in the Football Kenya Federation Women's Premier League (FKF-WPL). She is the only surviving player from the squad that represented Kenya at the 2024 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic. Prior to joining the Starlets squad, she played for the Kenya Under-17 team.
Except for Weey, all the players who were in the Kenyan team for the 2024 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup, have transitioned to the Kenya Under-20 and the senior Harambee Starlets team.
Coach Cheche retained six key players from previous qualifying campaigns, including Awuor, Mwanakombo Bakari, Mumo, Boke, Achieng, and Fleviah Khatenje. Awuor, who was part of the Kenya Under-20 squad Rising Starlets for the World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia, was named team captain.
Forward Tabitha Wambui, who is a student at Madira Girls High School and plays for Soccer Assassins in the Women’s Premier League, was included in the squad.
The qualification competition runs over three rounds of home-and-away matches. Thirty teams entered the first round, with Nigeria exempted based on their performance across the last five editions of the qualification competition.
The 15 winners will advance to the second round, where they will be joined by Nigeria. These 16 teams compete for eight places in the third round. The remaining eight teams then face off in four two-leg ties, with the four winners qualifying for the World Cup.
