Kenya drawn in tough CECAFA U17 Women’s Championship group
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Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 21.05.26. | 17:03
The Junior Starlets will be hoping to secure a second appearance at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after making history in 2024
The draw for the 2026 Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) U-17 Women’s Championship was conducted on Thursday, 21 May, in Kampala, Uganda, setting the stage for the regional tournament scheduled for Saturday, 13 to Tuesday, 23 June in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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Kenya has been placed in a challenging Group A alongside hosts Tanzania, Somalia and Sudan following the draw overseen by CECAFA Head of Marketing and Communications Andrew Oryada. Group B will feature Uganda, South Sudan and Djibouti.
CECAFA Competitions Manager Yusuf Mossi welcomed the growing participation in women’s football across the region, noting that Somalia and Sudan will field women’s teams in the championship for the first time.
“We are happy that for the first time Somalia and Sudan will also send women’s teams for this championship,” said Mossi.
According to CECAFA, the tournament will also serve as an important preparation platform for teams from the region that remain in contention for qualification to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Kenya is currently still in the qualification race and is set to face Uganda in the second round of the qualifiers.
The first leg will be played in Kampala on Saturday before the return leg in Nairobi, with the aggregate winner advancing to the third qualification round.
The Junior Starlets will be hoping to secure a second appearance at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after making history in 2024 by becoming the first Kenyan football team, male or female, to qualify for a World Cup tournament.
Although Kenya exited the tournament in the group stage, the team still etched its name into the history books with a memorable victory over Mexico in their final group match after earlier defeats to England and North Korea.
CECAFA U17 Championship Draw
Group A: Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan
Group B: Uganda, South Sudan, Djibouti