New beginning as women Under-20 take on Lesotho

By Gilbert Wandera

The last time the national women Under-20 team featured in an international event, they lost by a whooping 11-1 on aggregate to Nigeria.

Current coach Florence Odhiambo who was a player then is determined to write a new history for Kenyan football as the team takes on Lesotho in a women’s World Cup qualifier this afternoon.

The match is at Nyayo National Stadium and kicks off at 3pm and the gates close at 2.30pm.

"This time we have very talented players, who are determined to go places after a long-time in the shadows of their male counterparts."

"We are determined to go further than we did in 2006 when we lost to Nigeria by a huge margin. The girls are willing to do whatever it takes and it all begins today," she said.

Anyango said she has a lot of confidence in her current team who have kept themselves in shape by taking part in the Unicef sponsored national women league that has been running for the last two years.

The team Thursday received a manicure treat from Unity College in Buru Buru after their final morning training session which team chaperone Rachel Kamweru termed as a major motivating factor ahead of today’s clash.

"We are very grateful to Unity College for giving us this treat. It makes a big difference and the girls are extremely motivated going into the match," she said.

Kenya needs to win comfortably at home to make the return match two weeks later in Lesotho a mere formality.

Going against the Kenyan team is the fact that they have not had adequate training after having been in camp for only four days.

The team’s technical bench had a hectic time of coming up with a provisional squad of 25 players within a short time and it is possible that some good players may have been ignored in the final selection.

Just like Kenya, Lesotho are also rebuilding their women football and hope to use this fixture as a spring- board to greatness.

Women football in Lesotho has been almost non-existent in the last 18 months and the country is looking to rebuild the same through their Under-20 side.