M. KisengeWomen's football is craving for more exposure, says Harambee Starlets coach
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 26.09.23. | 21:55
Starlets defied all odds to eliminate the Lionesses from the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after prevailing 4-3 on post-match penalties on Tuesday
It was hard to tell that Harambee Starlets had not played competitive football since October 2021 when they locked horns with the highly-rated Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon on Tuesday at the Nyayo National Stadium.
Starlets defied all odds to eliminate the Lionesses from the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after prevailing 4-3 on post-match penalties.
The game had ended 1-1 in aggregate as Cameroon won the first leg 1-0 in Douala last Friday with Starlets replying with a similar score line in the return leg.
Before the qualifiers, Starlets had been out of action for close to two years as the last assignment came back in October 2021 against South Sudan at Nyayo. Kenya won the game 15-1 on aggregate before being kicked out of the WAFCON qualifiers.
The fight the girls put on the pitch on Tuesday is one that left coach Beldine Odemba emotional as the tactician seemingly fought back tears while giving her post-match thoughts.
Beating Cameroon who have been at the World Cup before is not a mean feat in the eyes of Odemba who believes that a lot has to be done for women’s football that seldom gets the attention and funding afforded to the other category.
For the former Mathare United team manager, support from all quarters will be key to get women’s football to the next level.
“Women’s football is craving for sponsorship. We need more live matches across various channels. I would like the government to help us organize friendlies and tournaments for all our national teams starting from the junior ones. If we get support and put more girls together and even get good coaches in schools I think we will be good to go as a country,” said Odemba.
Starlets will face Botswana in the second round after the South African nation eliminated Gabon 7-1 on aggregate.
Should Starlets beat Botswana, the team will book a ticket in the finals slate for next year in Morooco.
The second round will be played between November 27 and December 5, 2023.
