NAIROBI, Kenya, August 6, 2026 – As she counts down the hours and days until she leads the national under 17 girls’ football team to the World Cup in Morocco, head coach Mildred Cheche has been a busy woman.
Cheche has been a conspicuous figure at the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Ball Games at the Mpesa Foundation Academy in Thika, watching on as teenagers from different top institutions battle for glory.
The gaffer’s eyes are peeled out, on the lookout for an exceptional talent who will be worth an addition to the squad for the global showpiece.
“I think the school game provides a platform for competition and also for most of the players to be scouted for the national team and also to just play football and enjoy. We will have just a couple…we will maintain the core squad but we will strengthen the team with a couple of players from the school games,” Cheche says.
The Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA)-trained tactician confesses she has been captivated by the talent on show at the week-long championships.
She says, other than the players who are already part of the Junior Starlets set-up, there are a number of hitherto unknown gems who have caught her eye.
“It’s a good platform for girls, and boys also, to showcase what they have in terms of talent. The level, of course, is high. You could see the competitiveness of the teams and I think also following up on our players and new players who we will include in our squad,” Cheche observes.
Spoilt for choices
Mpesa Foundation Academy has been teeming with scouts from the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) who have been identifying and analysing talents who could go on to help the country achieve its grand dream of playing in major competitions, such as the World Cup.
For Cheche, the federation’s scouting network couldn’t have come at a better time.
She is looking forward to a day when she will be spoilt for choices as far as young talented players to be called up to the national team is concerned.
“The FKF scouts that were trained, they are very important in ensuring that we cover all regions because as a coach I cannot go to all the counties to scout for players. having such scouts in different areas makes my work easier and also to get more players from counties that I cannot reach,” she explains.
As the scouts cover every blade of grass across the country to unearth gems of football talents, Cheche can direct her energies on building a formidable side to make a huge splash in the pool of the best teams in the world — as far as the under 17 is concerned.
She goes to Morocco with a wealth of experience garnered from her debut with the Junior Starlets in 2024 in the Dominican Republic.
The team hold the distinction of being the only Kenyan football side to have represented the country at a World Cup of any level.
For Cheche and her girls, going one better than their 2-1 win over Mexico in the Dominican Republic will enhance their status among Kenyans and the whole universe.
