The Kenya national women's team, Harambee Starlets have registered marked improvement in the the latest Fifa ranking, moving up nine places from 133 to 124 with a total of 986 points.
This effectively makes Kenya the best seeded women's football team in East Africa.
A visibly elated Harambee Starlets' head coach David Ouma while reacting to the news said he was determined to turn the team into one of the best on the continent.
“I am glad to achieve our milestone of standing at the top in East Africa. Right now, we are aiming to achieve our next milestone which is to be the team to beat in Africa,” said coach Ouma.
Ouma and his charges are currently training their sights on the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations in Morocco with the qualifiers tentatively set to kick off in June.
Kenya will also be aiming to qualify for the 2023 Fifa Women World Cup that will jointly be held by Australia and New Zealand.
“Our aim is to first qualify for the 2022 Awcon in Morocco and hopefully, take advantage of the direct entry slots to the 2023 World Cup that will be held in Australia and New Zealand,” said Ouma.
World football governing body, Fifa, have set aside six special slots for Africa in the 2023 Fifa Women World Cup.
The semi-finalists in the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations will secure direct entry to the world's most coveted showpiece and the remaining two slots will be allocated to those who will emerge the best in the qualifiers.
Football Kenya Federation had already begun dispatching call-up letters to selected players days before the government issued a directive putting on hold all sports activities as part of Covid-19 containment measures.
FKF president Nick Mwendwa, however, brought some hope to the grim reality while speaking at a luncheon hosted in honour of Harambee Stars at a Nairobi hotel.
“We have already talked to the Sports Ministry, and they are keen to implement a few things...What I can say, CS Amina (Mohamed) is very willing to allow us to resume the league if we follow the laid down Covid-19 regulations," said Mwendwa.
Local-based players comprising the provisional squad were set to join the Starlets 15-day training camp between March 30 and April 14 prior to the announcement.
Among the foreign-based players coach Ouma is expected to summon for national duty include Cynthia Shilwatso (EDF Logrono, Spain), Vivian Adhiambo (Atletico Ourense, Spain), Annette Kundu and Ruth Ingotsi (AEL Champions, Cyprus).
