Kenya under 20 women team.[Photo/ebru.co.ke]
Last year, junior team was formed (Under-20) and they were invited to participate in the fifth edition of Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) Women’s Championship, with reaching the semi-finals being their aim.
They would keep an unbeaten run in the group stages, registering three wins for maximum nine points and scoring 17 goals while at it. Five against Mozambique, 11 past Mauritius and one against Swaziland.
It was also another milestone in the sport as a junior team was formed (Under-20) and took part in the World Cup qualifiers. The side started their campaign from the preliminary rounds where they saw off Botswana 7-1 playing away, prompting the opponents to withdraw from the return match.
They went ahead to defeat Ethiopia 4-3 on aggregate in the first leg to book a date with Ghana in the penultimate round of the qualifiers.
The Black Princesses, however, crashed the junior Starlets’ hopes of featuring in the World Cup after a 10-1 defeat on aggregate. With the two teams having faced some of the best sides in the continent, the level of confidence in players has improved and with the right exposure and support, women football will be a force to reckon with.
However, the same support should be extended to clubs and the league as the players hone their skills at that level. Women’s Premier League All is well that ends well, and that can be said of the 2017 Football Kenya Federation Women’s Premier League season that concluded in December after months of players and teams doing battle on the pitch.
This has in return led to significant improvements in national teams. The current Under 20 national team has shown great potential to compete continentally while their seniors are no different. Cash crunch, However, clubs are struggling for lack of sponsorship and the federation has not found a sponsor for the league.