Kenya Under-17 girls attract American, Spanish interest
Kenya's Junior Starlets midfielder Marion Serenge (right) in full flight against Mexico during the 2024 Fifa Under-17 Women's World Cup match at Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Wednesday October 23, 2024. Courtesy of FKF
What you need to know:
- According to Junior Starlets coach Mildred Cheche, four players from her history writing squad could soon get contract offers to play professional football abroad.
- "They players caught the attention of scouts from USA Chicago Red Stars and Atletico Madrid Academy during the tournament. The scouts promised to keep in touch after the tournament. I'll not talk about the details,” Cheche said here in Santo Domingo on Friday.
In Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic
Kenya may have been knocked out in the group stages of the 2024 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic but the brave performance of the Junior Starlets did not go unnoticed.
According to Junior Starlets coach Mildred Cheche, four players from her history writing squad could soon get contract offers to play professional football abroad.
"They players caught the attention of scouts from USA Chicago Red Stars and Atletico Madrid Academy during the tournament. The scouts promised to keep in touch after the tournament. I'll not talk about the details,” Cheche said here in Santo Domingo on Friday.
She only ventured to say that negotiations had already started. Red Stars is a professional football team based in Bridgeview, Illinois and competing in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid play in the Spanish Women’s First Division. Their women's academy caters for girls aged between six and 17 years. Nation Sport understands that among the four being sought are midfielders Marion Serenge and Lorna Faith.
Junior Starlets midfielder Lorna Faith poses for a photo after receiving the player of the match award against Mexico during the Fifa under 17 Women’s World Cup in Dominican Republic at Felix Sanchez Stadium Mixed zone on October 23,2024.
Faith, a Form Three student at Butere Girls High School, was voted Woman of the Match in their Group “C” match against Mexico on October 24.
Serenge, a Form Four student at Archbishop Njenga Girls, stood out for here industry and featured in the Fifa tracker as the fourth fastest player in the tournament with a top speed of 30.42 km/h in the group stages.
"If well kept, we can do better in future international competitions because reaching a World Cup qualification is not an overnight success. We must go back to our strategies and seal more tournaments and high-profile friendlies so that our players can secure such opportunities at an early age," added Cheche.
The Kenya coach had earlier said that the world cup was a good opportunity for her players to showcase their talent and be scouted by professional clubs from Europe.
Kenya fell 2-0 to England, 3-0 top North Korea before bouncing back gallantly to thump Mexico 2-1 in their Group “C” assignments.
Group “C” winners North Korea play USA in today’s semi-finals after crushing debutants Ecuador 5-0 in their quarter-final on Saturday.
Group “C” runners up England face two-time champions Spain the second semi-final tomorrow. The Englishwomen beat Japan 4-1 in post-match penalty kicks after the two nations had fought out a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
The final will be held this Sunday at the Estadio Felix Sanchez.
