Junior Starlets receive bye to second round of World Cup qualifiers

Kenya's U17 girls' national team, the Junior Starlets, has advanced directly to the second round of the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers following a draw conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Thursday, December 12, 2024, in Cairo, Egypt.

The Junior Starlets, recently nominated in the CAF Awards for National Team of the Year (Women), were granted a bye to the second round alongside Nigeria and Zambia. This recognition follows their commendable performance at this year’s U17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic.

Despite exiting in the group stage after losses to eventual champions North Korea and England, Kenya concluded their campaign on a high note with a 2-1 victory over Mexico, courtesy of first-half goals from Valerie Nekesa and Lorna Faith.

Burundi also received a bye to the second round, having been ranked as the highest non-qualifying team.

Should Kenya progress past the second round, they will face either Egypt/Cameroon or Zimbabwe/Ethiopia in the third and final round. These matches are for April 18–20, 2025 (first leg), and April 25–27, 2025 (return leg).

Africa will send five teams to the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, hosted in Morocco for the first time, from October 17 to November 8, 2025.

In related news, Kenya’s U20 girls' national team, the Rising Starlets, will face Ethiopia in the second round of the U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers. These matches are slated for September 19–21, 2025 (first leg), and September 26–28, 2025 (return leg). The third and fourth rounds will follow in 2026.