•The winner of the second round will seal automatic qualification for the Grand Finale which will be held in Morocco for the second consecutive time.
•Harambee Starlets head coach Beldine Odemba reckons her charges are ready to take the fight to the doorstep of the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon.
Image: FILE
The 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON 2024) qualifiers officially kicked off on Wednesday with a record 40 teams jostling for slots in the 16th edition of the premier biennial continental football extravaganza.
The draw for the qualifiers, organised by the Confederation of Football (Caf), was conducted at the Mohammed VI Complex in Rabat, Morocco on July 6.
Kenya's Harambee Starlets, are set to embark on a vicious title hunt against four-time finalists, the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon.
The two nations will flex muscles in a two-pronged encounter with the first leg being held in Doula on Friday. Starlets will fly back home on Sunday in time for their second-leg match in Nairobi on September 26.
Should Harambee Starlets emerge as the aggregate winners of the two-legged qualifier, they will face either Gabon or Botswana in the second round which will be held between November 27 and December 5.
The winner of the second round will seal automatic qualification for the Grand Finale which will be held in Morocco for the second consecutive time.
The North African nation which has already qualified automatically as hosts will be among the final 12 teams that will be aiming to wrestle the title away from defending champions Banyana Banyana of South Africa.
Starlets, who are already in the West African nation for the first leg, will hope to replicate the heights they scaled seven years ago when they punched a ticket to the 2016 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations for the first time.
They qualified for the 2016 edition after defeating Algeria narrowly on the away goal rule. It was the first time the nation punched a ticket to the coveted tournament.
Harambee Starlets head coach Beldine Odemba reckons her charges are ready to take the fight to the doorstep of the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon.
"We've done adequate preparations and I'm confident we are going to perform well against Cameroon," Odemba said.
Odemba, who also doubles up as head coach of the Kenya Women's Premier League side, Kenya Police Bullets, said she is not quaking in the boots ahead of the crunch Cameroon tie.
“I have utmost belief in my players. We have the experience needed to upset Cameroon even though many people consider them as favorites.”
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Odemba said they would be going all out for goals both in Douala and in Nairobi.
"Like I said before, our goal is to adopt a proactive approach in Cameroon. We are not going there to defend. Our focus will be to score as many goals as we can," Odemba said.
Odemba said she used their friendly against Kenya Police Bullets to identify and smoothen the rough edges in her squad.
"The friendly match was worthwhile and I believe it helped us put our house in order," Odemba remarked.
Speaking upon their arrival in Cameroon on Wednesday, Odemba exuded confidence ahead of the clash. "As a squad, we are excited to be here and are quite optimistic," she declared.
While acknowledging the potential of their opponents, Odemba said they are ready to prove their mettle in the realm of women's football.
"We are aware Cameroon have participated in several editions of WAFCON. But we have also participated once, so we have an idea of what the tournament is all about."
"We have prepared well technically and I can confidently state we are ready. Let's see how it goes," she stated.
Coach Odemba unveiled a star-studded 23-member squad for the first encounter against Cameroon in Douala.
The squad is a stellar collection of players drawn from local and foreign clubs, including razor-sharp forward Esse Akida, who won the MVP award with FC PAOK Thessaloniki of Greece earlier in the year.
The team will also be boosted by the presence of a mercurial striker who hopes to replicate her exploits in the Uefa Women's Champions League, where she held forte for the Greek side who were eventually eliminated following a 3-0 loss to Austria St Polten.
The bubbly striker, returning to the national team after a five-year absence, was part of the squad that took Kenya to the 2016 WAFCON.
Akida promised to employ the expertise and experience she has gained in Europe to propel the Starlets past Indomitable Lionesses.
"I've learned and experienced some vital lessons that will prove useful in our campaign," Akida said.
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The attacking force also boasts Jentrix Shikangwa (Beijing Jingtan FC), Mercy Airo (Ulinzi Stars) and seasoned forward Mwanahalima 'Dogo' Adam.
Adam said she is confident they will claim the scalp of their West African opponents. "Cameroon must fall. Most of us have played together for long and I think we already know what is expected of us on the pitch. We are going to win," Adam said.
"We're here to win as a team, and everyone is excited about it. We are hoping for the best. I can't wait to face them and see what happens at the end of the 90 minutes," she continued.
Adam said the heavy presence of foreign-based players in the Starlets' squad will be instrumental in their tough campaign against their talent-laden West African opponents.
"We can now be proud of the fact that our nation has players competing at the highest level in Europe, which is great for the team. The young and upcoming players also have quite a lot to learn from their seasoned colleagues plying trade abroad," Adam said.
The lethal forward said she is excited she has landed another call-up to the national team after a lengthy absence.
"I'm glad that my services are still needed and I'm ready to fight tooth and nail for my country," Adam said.
"It's nice to be back, and I'm having fun spending time with the rest of the squad most of whom are fresh call-ups. Although the majority appear relatively young, we are ready to hold their hands and walk them through the journey," she said.
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Seasoned custodian Annedy Kundu who plies trade for Ness Atromitos FC in Greece echoed her teammates' sentiments, saying they were ready to assert authority in the qualifiers.
"We are well prepared for Cameroon. Let them bring it on. All along we were made aware we would play against a team that has been actively involved in competitive matches and so we trained extremely hard to meet expectations," Kundu said.
"I know we have some new faces amongst us but I'm not worried because they have been playing regularly in their respective clubs and so they have what it takes to feature at this level," she added.
"The coach has done a great job of sharpening us adequately enough for the task ahead and we are rearing to go."
Team captain Ruth Ingotsi said she is satisfied with the level of preparations done so far.
"Whatever we've learned is enough to help us register a positive outcome in Douala. The morale in the camp is high and we are ready to make the country proud," Ingotsi said.
Kenya returned to the international stage in March after the world football governing body, Fifa lifted a ban it had imposed on the country in February last year owing to third-party interference by the government.
Their last international engagement was in November last year against South Sudan in the Africa Women's Cup of Nations qualifiers.
After cruising past Sudan, the Starlets were due to play Uganda in a double-header as part of the last qualifying round of the Africa Women's Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures in February.
The Ugandans thus progressed to the AWCON finals, joining hosts Morocco as the only teams to have qualified for the continental showpiece that was held in July.
FKF CEO Barry Otieno wrote to the Caf, saying the national governing body was unable to carry out preparations for the match because they had been stripped of those powers by the government and locked out of their offices.
The country will be hoping for a better tide under coach Odemba who was elevated to her present role after a brief stint as the Kenya U-18 coach.
She took over the reins from Godfrey 'Solo' Oduor who has since been appointed the head coach of Kenyan Premier League side, Nzoia Sugar.
Odemba, 38, steered Highway Secondary School to the finals of the 2022 Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Association (FEASSSA) Games held in Arusha, Tanzania.