Harambee Starlets eyeing glory in Cecafa

Harambee Starlets Head Coach, David Ouma, is optimistic her charges will not disappoint at the inaugural Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Women competition, after a brilliant run in the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualifiers and during the COTIF tournament in Spain.

The team will leave the country on Friday for the tournament that will be staged in Uganda, kicking off on Sunday with Kenya locking horns with the hosts in the opener.

“We are motivated to do better because we have a benchmark from the previous performances. What we did in Spain showed our players have grown and are enjoying what they are doing. I would like to see my players growing,” Ouma said, addressing journalists at Nairobi’s Utalii College Grounds where the team conducted their last training session.

Team captain, Ann Aluoch, nicknamed ‘Untie’ by her teammates, however, acknowledges the players are under pressure to continue registering good results.

“We know that we are capable of doing well and especially with the experience we picked from playing in Spain among top teams. We are confident that we can go all the way to the final and win the tournament,” Aluoch said.

The team believes the experience picked up from Valencia in the COTIF tournament will pay direct dividends in both CEACAFA and AWCON tournaments.

“We managed to adapt to different kinds of play, tactics and formations because we faced different teams with different approaches to the game. That helped us grow and we feel we are better than we were before,” she added.

The squad of 29 includes four debutants, among them Wiyeta Secondary School striker Judith Musimbi and Nyakach High School custodian Lilian Awuor; both of whom shone bright during the recently concluded East African Games.

Makolanders centre-back Jackline Akot and Vihiga Queens midfielder Lilian Adera are also in the camp for the first time, while majority of the the rest are players who made the trip to Spain.

“There has been good level of competition from the school games as well as our league and now there’s a bigger field to get the players that I need. We have to ensure we get the best out of the country.

“From the Spain tournament, there are departments I realized needed improvement and which I sought to fix through the new players. It’s going to be tough to settle on the final squad but I want to assure Kenyans we will take the best team to Uganda,” Ouma stated.

Musimbi told Citizen Digital she is certain of making a good mark if she makes the final cut.

“I am elated to be in the national team, I came straight to the camp from Eldoret after the East Africa School Games last week and so far, so good. I am adapting in training and motivated to see my colleague student Awuor here.

“I know I have to prove my worth for the team, but I don’t doubt my ability in front of goal,” the final year student asserted.

The winners and runners-up will advance to the semi-finals of the 10-day tournament.

POOLS

Group A

Kenya

Uganda

Zanzibar

Burundi

Group B

Ethiopia

Tanzania

Rwanda