Cheche upbeat with world Cup qualification in sight

National senior men and women’s teams have had their chances in search of a World Cup or Olympic qualification.

In 1996 and 1997, Harambee Stars missed a chance to feature in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France by a whisker.

Then under coach Reinhard Fabich, Stars began their qualifiers against Algeria, winning 3-0 at home and going down 1-0 on Algiers.

With that result, Kenya sailed through to the second round of the process. Arguably this was the closest Kenya got near a world Cup qualification.

The team finished third on the standing with 10 points, just 3 points behind Nigeria who grabbed the Group 1 ticket.

Harambee Starlets on their side was close to making it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The then David Ouma coached side stumbled on their second last huddle against Zambia who eventually got the direct ticket to the Summer Games in Japan.

Starlets had beaten Malawi and Ghana in the third and fourth round respectively but thier hopes were dashed following a disappointing 3-2 on aggregate against the Shipolopolo.

Now, 2024 provides yet another historic moment for country as the Junior Starlets enter a penultimate stage for the 2024 FIFA U17 Women’s Qualifiers.

The team is just two steps away from making it to the elusive global football extravaganza.

First step is to register desired results against neighbours Ethiopia and the last dance would be either Djibouti or Burundi in the road to the Dominican Republic.

The coach on the wheel in the delivery of the huge milestone in Kenyan football is Mildred Cheche.

The CAF B license holder has gathered massive experience having worked under Beldine Odemba as Harambee Starlets assistant coach and Rainbow FC in the same capacity.

For coach Cheche, Kenya’s World Cup dream is very much alive and her charges are aware of the huge assignment ahead of them.

“This qualification provides a huge opportunity for us to make it to the World Cup. It is a chance to show that our girls can go far this time compared to our previous campaigns. It’s a great moment for the girls to be part of the history of becoming the first ever Kenyan team to make it to the World Cup,”

Cheche continued, “Our minds are on the bigger picture even though we are taking each game at a time. We want to get good results against Ethiopia and then move to the next step.”

Former Harambee Starlets defender now a Mathare United coach Anne Alouch is assisting Cheche. She is also full of optimism of making it to a maiden World Cup.

Junior Starlets begin their search for glory in Addis on May 10 and will return home for a spectacular return leg show on May 19 in Nairobi.

Should the young starlets go through to the final fourth round, they will face the winner be-tween Djibouti and Burundi.