Football in the country has been a contentious issue for long, be it local football or the national team’s inconsistent performances, so much that many have forgotten about the ladies team, which is performing brilliantly in Spain. The Kenya national ladies football team continues to dazzle and entertain in Spain in the Torneo Internacional de Futbol Sub-20 de L’Alcudia tournament in Valencia. The Harambee Starlets, as they are commonly known, overcame Espanyol 3-1 in their second group match on Tuesday, in what proved to many that they aren’t one game wonders.
The goals were scored by Essie Akida and Neddy Atieno, while Espanyol’s solo goal was scored by M. Zaira. The goals scored by Essie Akida moves her goal tally in the tournament to five, given that she had scored three goals on Sunday against CF Benfica. It was no mean feat considering the fact that CF Benfica are Portuguese Women League champions, and the challenge initially may have seemed too tough to overcome. On Sunday evening, the goals scored by Akida laid down an important marker and definitely alerted the rest of the participants on the potency of the team. During their game against Espanyol, the starlets were the first to get out of the blocks as Akida found the back of the net in the first half before Espanyol equalized through M. Zaira, to leave the scores level at half-time. Neddy Atieno then put Kenya 2-1 up, before the team’s top scorer Akida scored the third goal. Kenya has qualified for the semis and the team will come up against Betis.
The tournament is being used to prepare adequately for the upcoming Africans Women Cup of Nations competition, which will be hosted by Cameroon, and will take place from November 19th to December 3rd this year. Kenya confirmed their participation in the competition after overcoming Algeria, and the competition will be graced by several African powerhouses, a list that includes Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana.