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Kenya U-17 girls face toughest test yet in Fifa World Cup campaign
Junior Starlets players (from left) Beryl Awour, Elizabeth Opiyo, Gaundancia Maloba, and Brenda Achieng celebrate a goal against Namibia in the Caf African qualifying match for the Fifa Under-17 Women World Cup at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi on April 18, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Kenya booked a date with neighbours Uganda with a resounding 7-1 victory over Namibia.
- Uganda progressed to the second round after eliminating Zimbabwe 6-1 on aggregate.
Kenya is bracing for tough fixture against free-scoring Uganda in the second round stage of the 2026 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
Uganda, christened ‘Teen Cranes’ will host Kenya’s Junior Starlets in the first leg of the fixture on May 22 at Fufa Kadiba Stadium in Kampala. The reverse fixture will be played at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on May 30.
On Monday, Kenya named a 31-member squad that reports to camp in Nairobi on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 to begin preparations for the potentially-explosive fixture against the Ugandan side that scored 10 goals in the first round of the qualifiers.
Kenya’s head coach, Mildred Cheche made history by guiding the country to its first-ever appearance in the Fifa World Cup in any category when she led Junior Starlets to the 2024 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic.
Kenya booked a date with neighbours Uganda with a resounding 7-1 victory over Namibia, winning 2-1 in Windhoek, and 5-0 in Nairobi last month.
On the other hand, Uganda progressed to the second round after eliminating Zimbabwe 6-1 on aggregate, having won the first leg 2-0 in Harare, and triumphing 4-1 in the second.
Junior Starlets players before facing Namibia in the Caf African qualifiers for the Fifa Under-17 Women World Cup at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi on April 18, 2026.
Coach Cheche has introduced six new faces in the provisional squad from the one that faced Namibia, while maintaining the core team that featured in last year’s campaign.
Notable returnees to the squad are Brenda Awuor, Mwanakombo Bakari, Lindey Weey, Grace Mumo, Faith Boke, Brenda Achieng, and Fleviah Khatenje.
Only two players from the current squad - Weey and Achieng - played in the Kenyan side that competed at the 2024 2024 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic. Weey and Achieng previously turned out for Kenya Under-15 team Emerging Starlets before graduating to the Under-17 team.
Kenya’s new call-ups are defenders Valary Achieng’, Florence Mboya, and Jael Nanjala, midfielder Grace Wangari, and forwards Martha Musimbi and Rochelle Faith, who have been drafted in to strengthen the squad.
The Kenyan girls missed out on a consecutive appearance to the Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup last year after falling 6-2 on aggregate to Cameroon in the final qualifying round.
These qualifiers for this year’s tournament are being contested over three rounds on home and away basis. Thirty teams played in the first round, with Nigeria receiving a bye to the second round owing to their strong track record.
The 15 winners from the first round joined Nigeria in the second round to do battle for eight slots in the third round. The final eight teams from the third round will compete for four places reserved for Africa at the World Cup.
The 2026 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup will be staged in Morocco from October 17 to November 7.
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