Harambee Starlets defeat Cameroon in Nations Cup qualifier

By Peter Ochieng

Kenya National Women's football team, the Harambee Starlets are through to the second round of the 2024 Africa Women Cup of Nations (WAFCON) to be held in Morrocco.

Coach Beldine Odemba's charges qualified for the second round, after defeating Cameroon in the first round, second leg encounter in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon.

Cynthia Shilwatso scored for Starlets in the second half to salvage a dramatic 1-1 aggregate score, following Cameroon's 1-0 win against Kenya in Douala last week.

The game had to be decided via post match penalties, Kenya registering a 4-3 win to move on to the next stage.

Ababu Namwamba, Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Sports was among the first people to congratulate the team.

"What a WIN! Superb win over a strong Cameroon Lionesses, the first ever victory by any Kenyan team against Cameroon. Indeed the last time these 2 teams met #HarambeeStarlets were walloped 9-0 aggregate! Super proud of our supa girls," he wrote on X.

Harambee Starlets will now face the winner of Botswana VS Zambia tie in the second round.

Botswana beat Zambia 4-1 in the first leg last week.

The overall winner will book a ticket to the WAFCON title in Morrocco next year.

The last time Starlets qualified was in 2018 in Ghana.