The Harambee Stars of Kenya have settled for a 1-1 draw against Lesotho in an International friendly match played on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa.

Frank Odhiambo gave Kenya the lead after 14 minutes at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.

The two teams continued to create some decent scoring opportunities, but failed to convert them.

After recess the Lesotho team re-organised themselves and leveled matters through Thabo Makhele. The match ended 1-1 and the two teams will face-off again on June 7^th at the same Stadium.

Ethiopia will also be in action against Malawi on June 6^th at the Addis Ababa Stadium, and the second match to be played after three days.

The other teams from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda had their scheduled matches in Morocco cancelled due to sanitary and public health considerations.

The teams are using the FIFA Window to play International friendly matches as they prepare ahead of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 qualifiers.

The national team of Kenya will play two International friendly matches against Kyrgyzstan and Palestine next month.

Under the watchful eyes of head coach Benni McCarthy, the Harambee Stars will line up against Palestine on June 3^rd, and three days later face hosts Kyrgyzstan.

The two matches will be played during the June FIFA international window.

The technical bench of the team has today named the squad including five new call-ups; Deon Woodman (Wealdstone FC), Sammy Hena-Kamau (Hull City), Micah Obiero (Wealdstone FC), Sydney Agina (Stoke City) and goalkeeper Caleb Kramer (ADO Den Haag).

Although they are automatic qualifiers as co-hosts of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027, Kenya will also play in the qualifiers that kick-off in September 2026.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Byrne Omondi, Faruk Shikhalo, Caleb Kramer

Defenders: Erick Ouma, Stanley Wilson, Sylvester Owino, Frank Odhiambo, Alphonce Omija, Deon Woodman, Rooney Onyango, Sydney Agina

Midfielders: Richard Odada, Chris Erambo, Clarke Odour, Will Lenkupae, Austine Odhiambo, Zech Obiero

Attackers: Job Ochieng, Mohammed Bajaber, Ben Stanley, Sammy Hena-Kamau, Micah Obiero, Ryan Ogam, Lawrence Okoth

The Ocean Stars of Somalia have defeated hosts Bahrain 2-1 in an International friendly match played on Monday at the Bahrain National Stadium.

Issa Maris gave Bahrain the lead, but Mohamad Omar leveled matters making it 1-1 going into the break.

The home side ranked 90^th as per the latest FIFA ranking piled more pressure on Somalia ranked 202^nd, but failed to find the goals.

Issa Adam later scored Somalia’s winning goal to record their first win at International level since 2019.

The two teams used the International friendly match to prepare ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup qualifying matches later this month in Qatar.

Bahrain will face Djibouti, while Somalia take on Oman with the two matches slated for November 26^th Sudan and South Sudan are the other teams from the CECAFA Zone that will play in the qualification round of the FIFA Arab Cup 2025.

On Saturday Tanzania lost 4-3 in a friendly match against Kuwait, while Djibouti suffered a 6-0 defeat to hosts Morocco.

Meanwhile, two teams from the CECAFA Zone will be involved in International friendly matches on Tuesday with Uganda facing hosts Morocco, Kenya taking on Senegal in a match to be played in Turkey.

The national teams of Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda will be involved in International friendly matches during the FIFA International Match Window of November 14-18^th, 2025.

Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda will also use the international friendly matches to prepare ahead of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.

The Sudan team which will also play in the FIFA Arab Cup later this month will face-off against Oman in an International friendly match to be played November 14th in Muscat, Oman.

Uganda Cranes will also be involved in two international friendly matches against Chad and Africa’s top ranked team Morocco. Edgar Watson, the Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) announced on Thursday that the national team will face Chad on November 14^th and take on Morocco four days later.  The two matches will be played in the town of Tangier in Morocco.

The Taifa Stars of Tanzania under new caretaker coach Miguel Gamondi will also play against Kuwait in a match slated for November 14^th at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.

While the AFCON 2025 bound CECAFA teams Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda will be engaged with international matches, the Harambee Stars of Kenya and Burundi will also be engaged with matches during the same period.

Kenya will play two International friendly matches against Madagascar and Senegal between November 14-18^th in Antalya, Turkey, while Burundi will host Zambia at the newly renovated Intwari Stadium in Bujumbura.