Birthday girl Shikangwa dreams of playing in Europe

After emerging the top scorer at the recently concluded Cecafa Women Championship, Harambee Starlets teenage forward Jentrix  Shikangwa says the tournament has opened doors of opportunities as several clubs are lining up for her signature.

Starlets dethroned holders Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro Queens 2-0 in Monday’s final at Chamazi Stadium in Dar es Saalam to lift their first ever regional title, with the Vihiga Queens star notching 10 goals out of 22 scored by the team to become the top scorer.

Speaking to Citizen Digital at Utalii Hotel in Nairobi after the team jetted back yesterday, Shikangwa who has turns 18 today expressed her joy saying a number of clubs have made contacts with a view of snapping her up.

“I can say that(Cecafa) was a wonderful moment to me, I haven’t achieved much as opposed to the regional tournament. It was my first ever time to participate but I came off the bench severally and scored,”she enthused.

“I can’t blame the coach for bringing me as a substitute, I know he had a reason for that, maybe because of my young age but I believe going forward he will consider me in his first eleven because I have proved to him that I can.”

“A lot of fans were mentioning my name whenever I touched the ball and when I get in the field as I sub; that really motivated me and I could not let them down, that’s why I was determined to score a lot of goals like Lionel Messi.

Up to now I have been contacted by more than four clubs in the region seeking for my signature, the latest being Alliance Queens, a Tanzanian club participating in their top flight league. I don’t know much about the team but the little I know is that they nurture talents and my desire is to play in Europe. I am sure by the grace of God my dreams will be valid,” she added.

Alex Alumira, Shikangwa’s  coach at Vihiga Queens has in the meantime hailed her for a “a wonderful job” in Dar es Salaam noting that the future is bright for the promising prodigy.

“I have known Jentrix since she was in primary school. She emerged from Shinyalu  Academy, that’s the place I used to see her play and I was really impressed by her talent. She got the chance to play for  Gaspo although I wasn’t sure if they had signed her due to her teenage age. While at Gaspo, my team Vihiga Queens used to meet them and she really gave my back line sleepless nights and that’s when I decided to sign her up,”Alumira revealed.

The birthday girl shone more when she joined Wiyeta Girls and was part of the team which participated in the 2017 Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Associations games in Gulu, Uganda.

However, apart from hailing her good job in Dar, Alumira says Shikangwa needs to adopt some two three technical skills.

“Jentrix; she’s very young and that’s why here in my club I always bring her from the bench because I believe she doesn’t have the power to run for 90 minutes. I watched her play in Tanzania and I can say she tried although she has to work on how to utilize both wings as a striker and to be in one area. I mean, she must be flexible and able to move with the ball from any angle as Messi and Ronaldo does. Another thing she must know is how to use both legs which will help her score a lot from any angle because in Tanzania she was relying on one angle alone.”