Kenya Women's National Football Team

The first women's league in Kenya and national team were created in 1985 at a time when almost no country in the world had a women's national football team. The national team is nicknamed the Harambee Starlets and national team players are not full-time professional players. They need to have other employment.

In 1993, Kenya Women's Football Federation was created and organised a national team that represented the country several times in international tournaments between its founding and 1996. In 1996, the Kenya Women's Football Federation folded under pressure from FIFA and women's football was subsumed by the Kenya Football Federation, with women being represented in the organisation as a subcommittee. Kenya Football Federation took over the management of the women's national team.

In a 22 September 1998 game in Nairobi, Kenya beat South Africa 1-0. In a match in the same city two days later, they lost to South Africa 1–2. In 2002, the national team played a game. The team played in qualifying matches for Olympics in 2003. In 2004, the team played 2 games.

The team played in qualifying matches for the African Cup of Nations in 2006. In 2006, the team played 3 games. In 2006, the national team had 3 training sessions a week. Djibouti women's national football team played Kenya in Nairobi on 26 March 2006, with Kenya winning 7–0, holding a lead of 4–0 at the half. On 22 July 2006, Kenya played Cameroon women's national football team in Yaounde. Cameroon was up 2–0 at the half and went on to win the game 4–0. On 5 August 2006, Kenya played Cameroon in Nairobi. Cameroon was ahead 3–0 at the half and went on to win the game 5–0. In the 2007 African Games qualifying tournament, Kenya beat Tanzania 2–1. In 2010, the country had a team at the African Women's Championships during the preliminary round but withdrew and ultimately did not compete.

In 2011, Grace Sayo was the team captain. The country did not have a team competing at the 2011 All Africa Games. The country was supposed to participate in qualifiers for the 2011 All Africa Games but the national federation withdrew the team after ten of the team's players had already traveled from the countryside to the capital for a training camp in preparation for an opening match against Tanzania. Women's football administrators in the country asked the government to investigate why the national football federation withdrew from the competition, while still having money available to send the men's national team around the continent for competitions. If they had played the match, it would have been their first international match since 2006 when they beat Djibouti. In the 2012 Africa Women's Seniors Championships, the team withdrew from the competition prior to the first round qualifier.

In March 2012, the team was ranked the 135th best in the world and the 31st best in the CAF. Kenya's average FIFA world rank is 120. In 2011, they were ranked 136. In 2010, they were ranked 128. In 2009, they were ranked 92. In 2008, they were ranked 117. In 2007, they were ranked 144. In 2006, they were ranked 135. Their best move in world rankings was an increase of 24 in June 2007. Their worst move down world rankings was a loss of 27 in December 2007.

In May 2017, the Football Kenya Federation signed a 3-year partnership with kits manufacturer Mafro Sports to providing the kits for all national teams, as well as junior categories. The national team will use red jerseys for home matches, white jerseys for away matches, and green jerseys for matches played on neutral venues.

Background and development

Early development of the women's game at the time colonial powers brought football to the continent was limited as colonial powers in the region tended to take make concepts of patriarchy and women's participation in sport with them to local cultures that had similar concepts already embedded in them. The lack of later development of the national team on a wider international level symptomatic of all African teams is a result of several factors, including limited access to education, poverty amongst women in the wider society, and fundamental inequality present in the society that occasionally allows for female specific human rights abuses. When quality female football players are developed, they tend to leave for greater opportunities abroad. Continent wide, funding is also an issue, with most development money coming from FIFA, not the national football association. Future, success for women's football in Africa is dependent on improved facilities and access by women to these facilities. Attempting to commercialise the game and make it commercially viable is not the solution, as demonstrated by the current existence of many youth and women's football camps held throughout the continent.

Women's football gained popularity in the country during the 1990s. In 1993, this popularity led to the creation of the female run Kenya Women's Football Federation, who organised a national team that represented the country several times in international tournaments between its founding and 1996. In 1996, the Kenya Women's Football Federation folded under pressure from FIFA and women's football was subsumed by the Kenya Football Federation, with women being represented in the organisation as a subcommittee. Football is the fourth most popular sport for women in the country, trailing behind volley, basketball and field hockey. In 1999, a woman referee from Kenya officiated a match between the Nigerian and South African women's teams in Johannesburg and was treated poorly by fans when she failed to call an offsides. The game was delayed because of the ensuring violence, which included bricks being tossed at her. In 2006, there were 7,776 registered female football players of which 5,418 were registered, under-18 youth players and 2,358 were registered adult players. This followed a pattern of increased registration of female football players in the country with 4,915 total registered players in 2000, 5,000 in 2001, 5,500 in 2002, 6,000 in 2003, 6,700 in 2004 and 7,100 in 2005. In 2006, there were 710 total football teams in the country, with 690 being mixed gendered teams and 20 being women only. In 2006, there were over 3,000 girls playing in seven different leagues around the country. Rights to broadcast the 2011 Women's World Cup in the country were bought by the African Union of Broadcasting.

Kenya Football Federation was created and joined FIFA in 1960. Their kit includes red, green and white shirts, black shorts and black socks. The federation does not have a full-time dedicated employee working on women's football. Women's football is represented on the federation by specific constitutional mandate. FIFA suspended Kenya from all football activities for three months in 2004, due to the interference of the government in football activities. The ban was reversed after the country agreed to create new statutes. On October 25, 2006, Kenya was suspended again from international football for failing to fulfill a January 2006 agreement made to resolve recurrent problems in their football federation. FIFA announced that the suspension would be in force until the federation complies with the agreements previously reached. Rachel Kamweru is the Kenyan women football national chairperson. COSAFA and FIFA reaffirmed a commitment to women's football in the East African countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania in 2010.

Nicknames

The Kenya women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Harambee Starlets".

Home stadium

Kenya plays their home matches on the Moi International Sports Centre.

National youth teams

Under-20

In 2006, the under-19 national team had 2 training sessions a week. The country participated in the African Women U-20 Championship 2006. They were supposed to play the Republic of Congo in Round 1 but the Republic of Congo withdrew from the competition. In the second round, they played Nigeria in Nigeria, losing 0–8. At home in the return match, they lost 1–2. The under-20 national team competed in the 2010/2011 FIFA U-20 CAF Women's World Cup qualifying competition. They did not advance to the U20 Women's World Cup. In the preliminary round, they tied Lesotho 2–2 in a home match for Lesotho. In the home leg, they beat Lesotho 2–0. In the first round qualifiers, they lost to Zambia 2–1 in a home game for Zambia. They beat Zambia 4–0 in the home leg. In the qualifiers, they lost to Tunisia at home 1–2 in the second round. In 2012, the Zambian side was coached by Martha Kapombo. In the African qualification tournament for the U20 World Cup, Zambia lost to Kenya by an aggregate of 5–2 from the two matches, one home and away for both teams. Zambia lost the second match at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi by a score of 0–4. In a mid-February game, they had beaten Kenya 2–1 at Sunset Stadium in Lusaka. Kapombo said of the second game, "We were not prepared to lose to Kenya; actually we knew that we were going to beat them by four goals like they did to us. They changed most of the players who we played with in Zambia and that made it very hard for us in the midfield which failed to click." The Kenyan coach Florence Adhiambo said of the game ""We have come very far, we've been training hard and now we've seen what good training can do. We have worked hard to be here and the fans really played a very important role into this victory." The leg winner was scheduled to play Tunisia in the second round. The Kenyans played Tunisian on 31 March 2012 at the Nyayo National Stadium in Tunisia. In the lead up to the game, the team had a three-week training camp. They were coached by Florence Adhiambo in the game. Ksh.700, 000 was given to the team by the Kenyan Prime Minister to support their World Cup aspirations. Additional funding came from UNICEF, Procter and Gamble, and Coca-Cola.

Under-17

In 2006, the U-17 national team had 2 training sessions a week. They competed in the African Women U-17 Qualifying Tournament 2010. Botswana beat them in the opening round in a walkover win after Kenya withdrew from the tournament. The women's U-17 team competed in the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup that will be held in Azerbaijan in September 2012. They did not advance out of their region. They played a qualification match in Abeokuta against Nigeria.

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2023

Albania   v   Kenya

11 April 2023 (2023-04-11) Friendly	Albania	Cancelled	Kenya	Elbasan, Albania
--:-- UTC+1				Stadium: Elbasan Arena

Tanzania   v   Kenya

April 2023 (2023-04) Friendly	Tanzania	Cancelled	Kenya	Tanzania
--:-- UTC+3

Cameroon   v   Kenya

22 September 2023 (2023-09-22) 2024 AFWCON qualification First round 1st leg	Cameroon	1–0	Kenya	Douala, Cameroon
19:00 UTC+1	Mambolamo   8'	Report (FKF)		Stadium: Stade de la Réunification Referee: Antsino Twanyanyukwa (Namibia)

Kenya   v   Cameroon

26 September 2023 (2023-09-26) 2024 AFWCON qualification First round 2nd leg	Kenya	1–0 (1–1 agg.) (4–3 p)	Cameroon	Nairobi, Kenya
15:00 UTC+3	Shilwatso   75'	Report (FKF)		Stadium: Nyayo National Stadium
	Penalties
	Ingosi   #19   Andibo   Adam   Aquino		Eto   Meyong   Toko Njoya   Meffometou   Nchout Njoya
Note: 1–1 on aggregate. Kenya won 4–3 on penalties.

Kenya   v   Botswana

29 November 2023 (2023-11-29) 2024 AFWCON qualification Second round 1st leg	Kenya	1–1	Botswana	Nairobi, Kenya
15:00 UTC+3	Nekesa   45+4' (pen.)	Report (CAF)	Dithebe   37'	Stadium: Nyayo National Stadium

Botswana   v   Kenya

5 December 2023 (2023-12-05) 2024 AFWCON qualification Second round 2nd leg	Botswana	1–0 (2–1 agg.)	Kenya	Gaborone ,Botswana
	Dithebe   62'			Stadium: Botswana National Stadium
Note: Botswana won 2–1 on aggregate.

Current coaching staff

As of April 2021

Position	Name	Ref.
Head coach	Beldin Odemba
Assistant coach	Godfrey Oduor
Assistant coach	Mildred Cheche

Manager history

• Justine Omojong Okiring (2014–2015)
• David Ouma (2015–2017)
• Ann Aluoch (2017–2019)
• Paul Bitok (2019–2020)
• David Ouma (2020–2021)
• Charles Okere (2021–2022)
• Baraka Olindah (2022-2023)
• (2023-)

Current squad

• The following list is a Provisional squad for 2024 WAFCON 2nd round match.
• Caps and goals accurate up to and including 10 October 2021.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
	1GK	Annedy Kundu		Ness Atromitou FC
	1GK	Lilian Awuor	(1999-06-13) 13 June 1999 (age 24)	Olympique de Valence
	2DF	Ruth Ingosi	(1993-12-19) 19 December 1993 (age 30)	Simba Queens
	2DF	Phoeby Okech	(1994-10-10) 10 October 1994 (age 29)	Gokulam Kerala
	2DF	Vivian Nasaka	(1999-12-19) 19 December 1999 (age 24)	Hakkarigücü Spor
	2DF	Enez Mango	(1996-07-01) 1 July 1996 (age 27)	Farul Constanța
	2DF	Juliet Auma		Kenya Police Bullets
	3MF	Corazone Aquino	(1998-10-02) 2 October 1998 (age 25)	Simba Queens
	3MF	Lorna Nyarinda	(2000-10-13) 13 October 2000 (age 23)	Thika Queens
	3MF	Marjolen Nekesa	(1998-10-27) 27 October 1998 (age 25)	SK Slavia Prague
	3MF	Cynthia Shilwatso	(1999-07-23) 23 July 1999 (age 24)	Kryvbas
	3MF	Sheril Angachi	(2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 (age 24)	Ulinzi Starlets
	3MF	Ketsia Ngaira		Ulinzi Starlets
	4FW	Mwanalima Adam (captain)	(1997-09-04) 4 September 1997 (age 26)	Hakkarigücü Spor
	4FW	Elizabeth Wambui	1998 (age 25–26)	Simba Queens
	4FW	Joy Kinglady		Ulinzi Starlets
	4FW	Violet Nanjala	(2000-01-20) 20 January 2000 (age 24)	AMLFF Laayoune
	4FW	Janet Bundi	(1996-12-15) 15 December 1996 (age 27)	Vihiga Queens

Recent call ups

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Diana Tembesi	(1999-08-10) 10 August 1999 (age 24)			Vihiga Queens	v.   Albania, 11 April 2023
GK	Valentine Khwaka		-	-	Kenya Police Bullets	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
GK	Annette Kundu	(1996-12-17) 17 December 1996 (age 27)	-	-	Nees Atromitou	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
GK	Carolina Rufa		-	-	Simba Queens	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
GK	Mishi Mbaru		-	-	Kenya Police Bullets	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
DF	Lupemeba Bilonda				Thika Queens	v.   Albania, 11 April 2023
DF	Stellah Mulongo	(1992-11-28) 28 November 1992 (age 31)			Nakuru Queens	v.   Albania, 11 April 2023
DF	Quinter Owiti		-	-	Kenya Police Bullets	2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualificationPRE
DF	Christine Awuor	(2002-05-11) 11 May 2002 (age 21)	-	-	Zetech Sparks	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
DF	Lavender Atieno Okeyo		-	-	Kenya Police Bullets	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
DF	Wincate Kaari	(1999-11-13) 13 November 1999 (age 24)	-	-	Yanga Princess	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
DF	Dorcas Sikobe	(1989-04-04) 4 April 1989 (age 35)	-	-	Seirines Grevenon	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
DF	Centrine Wasike		-	-	Bungoma Queens	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
DF	Fosca Nashivanda		-	-	Zetech Sparks
MF	Merceline Wayodi	(1995-07-05) 5 July 1995 (age 28)			Vihiga Queens	v.   Albania, 11 April 2023
MF	Monalizer Anyango	(1999-11-28) 28 November 1999 (age 24)			Zetech Sparks	v.   Albania, 11 April 2023
MF	Maximila Robi				Kibera Soccer	v.   Albania, 11 April 2023
MF	Mercyline Anyango	(1995-04-30) 30 April 1995 (age 28)	-	-	JFK Panthers	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
MF	Mercy Njeri		-	-		v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
MF	Mercyline Wayodi				Vihiga Queens	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
MF	Fasila Adhiambo				Ulinzi Starlets	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
FW	Monica Etot	(2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 (age 21)			Kisumu Allstarlets	v.   Albania, 11 April 2023
FW	Desma Nyawade				Kisped Queens	v.   Albania, 11 April 2023
FW	Topister Situma	(1992-10-09) 9 October 1992 (age 31)	-	-	Fountain Gates Princess	2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualificationPRE
FW	Valerie Nekesa		-	-	Soccer Assassins	2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualificationPRE
FW	Esse Akida	(1992-11-18) 18 November 1992 (age 31)	-	-	PAOK	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
FW	Purity Alukwe		-	-	Kenya Police Bullets	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
FW	Mercy Airo	(1999-10-20) 20 October 1999 (age 24)	-	-	Ulinzi Starlets	v.   Cameroon, 26 September 2023
FW	Jentrix Shikangwa	(2001-11-27) 27 November 2001 (age 22)	-	-	Beijing Jingtan FC	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
FW	Terry Engesha	(1998-02-15) 15 February 1998 (age 26)	-	-	Hyundai Steel R.A	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
FW	Airine Madalina		-	-	Bunyore Starlets	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
FW	Rebecca Okwaro		-	-	Kenya Police Bullets	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023
FW	Nancy Atako		-	-	Kibera Girls Soccer	v.   BotswanaPRE, 29 November 2023

^PRE Preliminary squad (Players are listed within position group by order of latest call-up, caps, and then alphabetically)

Captains

• Doreen Nabwire (2013)
• Dorcas Nixon (2016–)

Previous squads

Africa Women Cup of Nations

• 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations squads

• Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 2020.

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
1991	did not enter
1995	did not qualify
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027	To be determined
Total	0/9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
1996	did not qualify
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
2028	To be determined
Total	0/7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Africa Women Cup of Nations

Africa Women Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
1991	did not qualify
1995
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016	Group stage	3	0	0	3	2	10	-8
2018	did not qualify
2020	cancelled due to COVID-19
2022	W/D
2024	Did not qualify
Total	Group stage	3

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

African Games

African Games record
Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA
2003	Did not enter
2007
2011	Did not qualify
2015	Did not enter
2019	Did not qualify
2023	TBD
Total	0/4	0	0	0	0	0	0

CECAFA Women's Championship

CECAFA Women's Championship
Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
1986	did not enter
2016	Runner up	5	4	0	1	23	4	+19
2018	4th	4	1	1	2	3	3	0
2019	winner	5	5	0	0	24	0	+24
2021	Cancelled
2022	suspended by FIFA
Total	1/5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

The list shown below shows the Djibouti national football team all−time international record against opposing nations.
*As of xxxxxx after match against xxxx.

Key

Record per opponent

*As ofxxxxx after match against xxxxx.

Key

The following table shows Djibouti's all-time official international record per opponent:

• Sport in Kenya
  • Football in Kenya
    • Women's football in Kenya
• Kenya women's national under-20 football team
• Kenya women's national under-17 football team
• Kenya men's national football team

Notes