NAIROBI, Kenya, July 3, 2026 – National women’s football team have been backed to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) despite their lowly status coming into the tournament.
Harambee Starlets midfielder Vivian Makokha says the team are packed with hungry and motivated players looking to stamp their mark at this year’s continental showpiece in Morocco.
“Despite most of us being debutants at the continental competition, our hope and desire is to win it. All our preparations are centred on winning the competition and we believe we can come back with the trophy,” she said.
If Makokha’s wish were to come true, then Starlets will have to put on an almighty performance, what with the calibre of their opponents in Group A.
They face the hosts in the tournament opener at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium on July 26 before tackling Senegal at the Olympic Stadium, four days later.
Beldine Odemba’s charges then round up their pool encounters against Algeria on August 3 — also at the Olympic Stadium.
Starlets’ Wafcon debut is an unforgettable one, in which they lost all their matches in Cameroon in 2016.
They lost 3-1 to Ghana before going down by an identical scoreline to Mali.
Starlets then wound up their campaign with a 4-0 thrashing by Nigeria.
With this high stakes in mind, the team have been intensifying their preparations under the hawk eye of Odemba and the rest of the technical bench.
Makokha believes that by the time they step onto the turf for their first match against the Atlas Lioness, Harambee Starlets will be one of the most terrifying teams to play against in the tournament.
“This is our fourth day in camp and everything is going on well so far. Everyone is pushing themselves in training…aiming to become the best version of themselves. I am sure that by the time we are done, we will be the finished product,” she said.
The journey is long and for the fierce battle ahead, Starlets will need to be sharp and well stocked in every aspect.
Beating Algeria, Morocco and Senegal is also not for the faint-hearted and in lieu of that, proper psychological preps is key.
