NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 7 – Kenya’s Under-17 women’s football team, the Junior Starlets arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Friday night, their eyes firmly fixed on the prize, chasing a historic place at the FIFA World Cup.
The team can become the first ever Kenyan team to qualify for a World Cup, if they get a positive result against Burundi over two legs of the final qualification hurdle, with the first leg set for Addis on Sunday.
Captain Elizabeth Ochaka says the team is rallied on by their collective dream to make history, and all they have been thinking of since beating Ethiopia in the penultimate leg, is the desire to earn a ticket to the Dominican Republic.
Big dream for Starlets
“This is a big dream for us,” says skipper Elizabeth Ochaka.
“Everyone is just talking about the World Cup. When we eat, it’s the World Cup, when we sleep, its the World Cup. When we dream, it’s the World Cup. I believe we will win against Burundi and we will get the ticket for the World Cup,” Ochaka says.
The same sentiments are shared by head coach Mildred Cheche, who says the team is determined to make history and put Kenya on the global map.
Eyes on history
“This is really massive. In the history of Kenya, since independence, no team has ever qualified for the World Cup. We are able to make this true and this is big for me, big for the girls, big for the bench and big for the country,” Cheche told Capital Sports.
She added; “We don’t take this responsibility lightly and we know how big it is. We are up to the task.”
Starlets progressed to the final round of qualification after thrashing Ethiopia 3-0 in the penultimate round of qualification. They need to replicate the same result against Burundi, to make the World Cup.
