Kenya Women’s Premier League clubs receive vaccination | OneFootball

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Women’s Premier League clubs received the COVID-19 vaccination. This came via organized efforts in Kenya by both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Heritage.

The vaccination exercise brings hopes of paving the way for a safe return to league action.

“This is a good initiative by the Federation and the Government,” said Kayole Starlet head coach Joshua Sakwa. “It gives the players a sense of hope that football may return.

“Overall, training has been hard and the girls really miss playing football hence I would like to plead with the government to allow the safe return of football.”

Gaspo Women, Kibera Soccer Ladies, Vihiga Queens and Kayole Starlet received the first batch of vaccines. Thika Queens, Zetech Sparks and Mathare United Women proceeded on Wednesday, April 14.

Only a few clubs will receive the vaccine in a single day. The remaining teams will follow suit in the coming days.

National team repercussions

Kenya’s Harambee Starlets are planning to participate in the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations qualifiers. They too recently received the vaccination to prepare for this year’s fixtures.

The Starlets will first face Zambia in a friendly match on April 24. The match will gauge the team’s preparation for the AWCON qualifiers.

The AWCON finals in Morocco will also act as a qualifier for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

While excitement for the national team increases, some Premier League coaches from Zone ‘B’ found fault with the national team’s recent selection.

The coaches pointed out that the team selection tilted in favour of Zone ‘A’ clubs, featuring more players from the likes of both Thika Queens and Gaspo Women. Among the key players from Zone ‘B’ who were left out was the league’s current top scorer Terry Engesha of Vihiga United.

Charles Okere’s recent appointment as Harambee Starlets’ head coach has also attracted mixed reactions. The Tusker FC assistant coach was named on Saturday.

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