Kenya are 90 minutes away from qualifying for the 2024 FIFA’s Women’s Under 17 World Cup.

The Junior Starlets beat Burundi 3-0 in the first leg of the last phase of the qualifiers in a match that took place on Sunday at the Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Lorna Faith gave the Junior Starlets a 1-0 lead, before Marion Serenge and Susan Akoth added two second half goals.

Head coach Mildred Cheche says she was impressed with the attitude of the players against a strong Burundi team. ” The players have continued to work hard of and on the pitch and the results can show, ” said Cheche.

‘’We created a lot of chances offensively and we had even more that we should have scored going back to the second leg I think we have a lot to improve in terms of offensive actions,” added the coach.

She called upon fans to come in big numbers on June 16th at the Ulinzi Complex to support the starlets in the return leg because they are 90 minutes away from making history.

The 2024 FIFA Women’s Under 17 World Cup which will attract 16 qualified teams including three from Africa is slated to take place October 16th to November 3rd in the Dominican Republic.

CECAFA teams Kenya and Burundi will clash in the final phase of the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

The Kenyan team qualified after seeing off Ethiopia 3-0 in the second leg of the third round qualifiers in a match played at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi on Sunday.

After the goalless draw in the first leg played in Addis Ababa, Kenya came all out to finish the job in Nairobi and scored through Elizabeth Ochakaa, Velma Awuor and Lormah Faith. Kenya went on to qualify on a 3-0 goal aggregate.

The Kenyan team, the Junior Starlets will now face Burundi in the final phase of the qualifiers to determine which teams books a ticket to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Burundi eliminated Djibouti on a 24-0 goal aggregate.

On Saturday Uganda’s Teen Cranes  beat Zambia 1-0 with the goal scored by Sylvia Kabene, but the Copper Princesses went on to qualify on a 2-1 goal aggregate. Zambia will now face Morocco, while Liberia take on Nigeria in the final matches of the qualifiers for Africa.

The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2024 which will have three qualified teams from Africa and others from different continents will take place in the Dominican Republic later this year starting from 16 October to 3 November, 2024.

Burundi brightened their chances of making it to the next stage after they humbled Djibouti 18-0 in the first leg of the third round in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

The Burundi team took a 7-0 lead at half time in a match played on Sunday at the Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

After recess the Burundi team added 11 goals to silence the Djibouti team. Esterance Habonimana netted seven goals, while Doriane Nzoyikorera scored six goals. Clanceline Akimana netted a brace, while Angle Davina Nibogora, Josephine Majura and Nellyssa Kamikazi scored a goal each.

The return leg will be played at the same stadium on Wednesday with Burundi looking set to make it to the final round of the qualifiers.

In the other match played on Sunday, Uganda suffered a 2-0 away defeat to Zambia at the Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka. Namute Chileshe and Ruth Mukoma scored for the hosts. Hosts Ethiopia and Kenya also settled for a goalless draw in a match played on Friday at the Abebe Bikila Stadium.

CECAFA is assured of having a team qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup since the winner between Djibouti and Burundi will face-off with the winner between Ethiopia and Kenya at the final stage. The winner between Uganda and Zambia and will the winner between Morocco and Algeria in the final phase of the qualifiers.

The other teams battling in the third round include: Senegal, Liberia, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.

The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2024 which will also have three qualified teams from Africa will take place in the Dominican Republic later this year starting from 16 October to 3 November, 2024.

Ethiopia have advanced to the third round of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2024 qualifiers.

After winning the first leg in the second round 3-0 against South Africa, the Ethiopian team held on to a goalless draw in the return leg played in Pretoria yesterday.

Ethiopia who qualified on a 3-0 goal aggregate will now face Kenya who earned a bye to the third round after DR Congo withdrew.

In another second round match played on Sunday, Tanzania’s Serengeti Girls defeated Zambia 1-0 in a match played at the Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam. Melkia William netted the lone goal, but Tanzania bowed out of the qualifiers on a 1-5 goal aggregate.

Zambia will now face Uganda in the third round after the Teen Cranes ejected Cameroon 4-2 on aggregate on Friday.

The other third round matches will see Djibouti face Burundi, while Morocco battle Algeria. Senegal will also face Liberia, while Burkina Faso take on Nigeria i the other matches.

The best three teams that win after the fourth round will qualify to represent Africa at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to take place in the Dominican Republic.