Kenya's representatives in the inaugural Cecafa Championship, Vihiga Queens, will move to a residential training camp in Nairobi on Thursday ahead of the regional competition scheduled to begin on July 17.
Head coach Alex Alumira took his players through their last paces at Kidundu Stadium as the squad prepared to leave. The Vihiga County-sponsored KWPL side booked a slot in the tourney after bagging the Kenya Women Football Premier League title in 2019.
Alumira said the county government is planning for one-week training program in Nairobi before the team is handed over to FKF for further preparations and other logistics.
The tactician said their scheduled trip to Nairobi is meant to acclimatise the team and expose them to better training facilities ahead of the championship.
He further said his players are in an upbeat mood after recovering from their shocking defeat in the Premier League semi-finals playoffs at the hands of Gaspo in Nakuru last weekend.
The coach said they will need between Sh5 million and Sh6 million to prepare adequately for the championship.
He said part of the money would be used to motivate the players, with the remainder going into the purchase of training equipment, gym and physiotherapy services among other things.
Alumira said this will be the first international championship for his players, adding that they were raring to go.
He predicted a tough Cecafa event, adding that out of the 11 participants, they expect stiff opposition from Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
He assured Kenyans that his players were determined to retain the trophy in the country. Captain Enez Mudeizi expressed confidence that they will win the championship. adding that they had prepared well.
She said they wanted to win the championship to redeem themselves from the shocking defeat in the playoffs that saw them relinquish the Premier league title.
Terry Engesha the team's all-time top scorer said the international championship will give players the opportunity to showcase their talent to scouts from clubs overseas.
Engesha who lost a penalty in the playoffs said her dream to play football abroad was still alive and was hopeful she would be in the right shape to attract the attention of foreign clubs during the competition.
Club CEO Mike Senelwa thanked County Government for the support and assured football fans that Queens will win the title and fly the country's flag high.
