Goalkeeper Annedy Kundu Harambee Starlets training session at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani Annex pitch on April 6, 2026 ahead of the 2026 Fifa Series.
How will Kenyan football gain from hosting a group of the inaugural Women’s Fifa Series?
Fifa launched the biennial invitational tournament in 2024, featuring men’s teams, to create more opportunities for smaller football nations to play against teams from other confederations and also give countries chances to host a Fifa event.
The Fifa Series is played in March every two years as a collection of four-team friendly football tournaments taking place in several countries around the world.
Fifa added a women’s section this year, and Kenyan football is about to make history with one group of the series being held in Nairobi, featuring hosts Kenya, Malawi, India and Australia.
The series in Nairobi is bound to raise the profile of women’s football in the country.
Kenya’s Harambee Starlets will take on India on Saturday at Nyayo Stadium from 6pm after a clash between favourites Australia and Malawi earlier in the afternoon at the same venue.
The winners will meet in a final on Wednesday from 6pm, while the losers clash in a third place play-off from 2pm on the same day.
How did Kenya come to host the event?
Harambee Starlets players celebrate a goal against the Gambia in a first leg match of the final round of 2026 Women Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at Nyayo National Stadium on October 24, 2025.
It all started as a suggestion by officials of the Fifa Regional Development Office in Kigali to Football Kenya Federation (FKF).
“They proposed the idea of Kenya hosting a Fifa Series tournament to us. They briefed us on the conditions required to host the event, and we took up the offer after FKF President Hussein Mohammed had a successful discussion with the Ministry of Sports on hosting the event,” Kerubo Momanyi, the FKF National Executive Committee Women’s Representative, told Nation Sport.
Read: 2026 Fifa series: Kenya feel the heat as highly-ranked Australia, India due in Nairobi on Tuesday
The conditions required to host a Fifa Series event, Momanyi says, include the availability of football pitches, hotels, roads, health facilities, and immigration support.
Harambee Stars’ participation in last month’s men’s Fifa Series in Kigali, which also involved Zambia, Grenada and Estonia, provided FKF with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the conditions and standards required to host the tournament.
“Rwanda’s organisation was impressive. The main stakeholders – federation, corporate, media, and government – coordinated seamlessly. Their government even subsidised tickets for fans, and that is why their matches had free entry,” Momanyi said.
Rwanda also hosted a group comprising Tanzania, Aruba, Liechtenstein, and Macau.
“Kenya can also do the same in future if we maintain our progress. We can host a men’s group and women’s group or two of each,” Momanyi said.
Momanyi said FKF was not incurring any extra costs as a Fifa Series 2026 host.
“FKF will provide the manpower. The technical aspects related to organising the event will be handled by the FKF Competitions department. The government will meet costs related to hiring the venue and Harambee Starlets’ expenses,” Momanyi said.
Harambee Starlets' Lavender Akinyi dribbles the ball past Uganda's Eva Nagayi during Fifa Under-20 Women World Cup qualifiers on September 25, 2021, at Nyayo National Stadium.
“Fifa will take care of match officials and manage the accommodation of the visiting teams per the agreements they have with them. Visiting teams paid for their air tickets,” she added.
While Momanyi described Kenya hosting the Fifa Series as evidence of “the growing confidence in Kenya’s capacity to host big events”, she also stated that having the event in Nairobi will offer lessons to local organisers that will come in handy during the 2027 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) that Kenya will co-host with Tanzania and Uganda.
“We want to be ahead of the learning curve as we prepare to host Afcon 2027, particularly in regard to ticketing. Hosting the Fifa Series will allow us to spot gaps in ticketing and rectify them,” Momanyi said.
Similarly, Harambee Starlets will also use this Fifa Series to polish their preparations for the 2026 Women’s African Cup of Nations (Wafcon), which takes place in Morocco from July 26 to August 16 this year.
“With Wafcon postponed to July, the Fifa Series will help Harambee Starlets stay active by playing matches against quality opponents. Some of the players featuring in this Fifa Series, particularly those from Australia and Malawi, play for some of the best women’s football teams in the world,” Momanyi said.
Harambee Starlets players celebrate after scoring a goal against Uganda, during the 2025 Cecafa Senior Women's Championship campaign at Azam Sports Complex in Chamazi, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on June 17, 2025.
“These matches will be televised to a global audience, and there will be scouts keeping an eye on them. Hence, this will be an amazing platform to increase visibility for Kenyan women’s football as our girls test themselves against some of the best players in the world,” Momanyi said.
Momanyi was hopeful that hosting the Fifa Series would unlock more resources to support women’s football in Kenya. All the gate collection will go to FKF.
“Our women’s league has grown to a point where it is getting a lot of attention, and we will continue to work to grow it. However, the running of individual clubs is the sole responsibility of their owners, not FKF. FKF’s focus is on capacity building and technical development of women’s football. Hosting the Fifa Series has already drawn interest from corporates who we hope to engage in partnerships aimed at long-term development of women’s football in Kenya,” said Momanyi.
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