Captain Harambee Starlets' Wendy Achieng (left) fight it out with Gloria Okoro of Equaitorial Guinea during first leg of AWCON qualifier at Kenyatta stadium Machakos County on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Harambee Starlets David Ouma coach, says it’s time for his charges to lift the regional Cecafa Women Championship that runs in Kigali from July 19-27.

Starlets, who were eliminated from the African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) second round qualifiers by Equatorial Guinea last Month, want to impress in the regional contest.

The national team will start their campaign against arch rivals Crested Cranes of Uganda on July 19. They will seek to overturn the 0-1 loss they suffered during the first round of the AWCON qualifiers.

Kenya has won all the past encounters but it won’t be a walk in the park against an improved Ugandan side. “This time round, we want to ensure that win the title. After being finalists in the last edition, we want to perform well in the four matches. The championship has been rescheduled and this will be a different mind game altogether.

“I have signed up four new players into the team, some of them featured in the under- 20 team that took part in the World Cup qualifiers. This is good because of our development for the junior national team and an opportunity for the players to battle for a chance in the senior team. Martha Amunyolete is a good player. He has played in the junior team and it is a good for her to be in the squad,” said Ouma.

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Kenya finished second in the last edition that was played in Uganda in 2016 following a 2-1 defeat by Kilimanjaro Queens from Tanzania.

The third edition has attracted only five nations with hosts, Rwanda, defending champions Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.

The championship has been shelved twice since last year. The showpiece presents an opportunity to size up each other as there is no East African representation in the AWCON finals set for Ghana later in the year. Last month, they went down 2-0 to Equatorial Guinea in the return leg of qualifying round . [Rebecca Jebet]