Kenya withdraws from U17 2018 World Cup Qualifiers

Kenya has sensationally pulled out of the upcoming qualifiers for the U17 Women’s World Cup, a week before their first match of the preliminary round.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) cited its incapacity to raise a team for the qualifiers scheduled for October since most students will be in school preparing for their end of year exams.

“We have written to FIFA and CAF informing them of our situation,” said FKF CEO Robert Muthomi.

“As you are aware, we were scheduled to play Ethiopia between October 13 and 15, 2017, however following consultations with the schools and Ministry of Education officials, we have decided to withdraw our participation to allow players ample time to prepare and sit for their exams, which we also find crucial for their development,” explained Mr. Muthomi.

The 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be the sixth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the biennial international women’s youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA.

The tournament will be held in Uruguay from 13 November to 1 December 2018.