Football Kenya Federation are planning to bid for the hosting rights for the 2022 African Women Cup of Nations, it has emerged.
FKF President Nick Mwendwa sees this as an ideal opportunity for the Kenyan national women football team, Harambee Starlets to, not only qualify for the continental showpiece but also stake a claim to finish in the podium and thus gain a 2023 World Cup berth.
“We are planning to bid for the 2022 AWCON. The government should thus move with speed to ensure that we have the necessary infrastructure to host a tournament of that magnitude,” Mwendwa said at the recent FKF Special General Meeting (SGM).
“Hosting this tournament will give us a chance of possibly winning the competition or finishing in the top three and thus qualifying for the 2023 Women's World Cup which is among the targets of the federation in the next term,” Mwendwa affirmed.
Though the women’s game has been struggling financially, they have achieved immense success on the field, winning the CECAFA championship and just missing out on a berth to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Mwendwa has promised that the federation will move heaven and earth in search of resources to support women football in the country.
Just this year, five members of the Harambee Starlets squad that won the Cecafa tournament inked deals in Europe including Corazone Adhiambo, Mwanahalima Adam and goalkeeper Annette Kundu.