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Tag: Women football

  • Slum Soccer Starlets receive kits from Obonyo Foundation

    Slum Soccer Starlets receive kits from Obonyo Foundation

    The Slum Soccer Starlets of Mathare received a major boost this week after public policy analyst Raphael Obonyo, through his Obonyo Foundation, donated new sports kits and balls to the team.

    The foundation delivered 17 pairs of kits and balls, joined by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and Cynthia Omondi, a girls’ and women’s rights advocate. The group pledged continued support for the Mathare-based team, which represents the community in local tournaments.

    “We have a squad of 30 players in the girls’ team, so this is a huge boost for us,” said Coach Edwin Ojiambo. “We often face shortages of equipment like balls and jerseys, and this donation will go a long way.”

    Obonyo emphasized the importance of grassroots support in sports development. “Many local teams struggle to afford kits,” he noted. “The Obonyo Foundation recognizes the power of sports to drive social change and unearth big talent. That’s why we continue donating kits and balls to support development through sports.”

    So far, the foundation has donated kits to over 200 teams across the country, including in Nairobi, Marsabit, Kisumu, Isiolo, and Busia counties. Beneficiaries include Slum Soccer Starlets in Mathare, Making A Difference (MAD) Sisters in Kibra, ACOFOA in Korogocho, Kisumu All Starlets, Kolwa, Moreno United in Eastleigh, and the Women Rising Initiative in Marsabit and Isiolo.

    Through its “For The Girls” initiative, the foundation focuses on empowering girls and promoting women’s football as a tool for development and equal opportunity.

    Obonyo encouraged the Slum Soccer Starlets to stay committed and use sports as a path to eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development.

    Omondi echoed that sentiment, highlighting the broader impact of supporting women’s football. “Girls and women’s football provides valuable opportunities for empowerment and growth,” she said. “It deserves all the support it can get.”

    During the handover, Obonyo also relayed a message from Dr. Mutunga, who urged young people to view the slums as “places of hope” and to keep building a better future through dedication and innovation including in sports.

  • Harambee Starlets to face defending champions Uganda in CECAFA today

    Harambee Starlets to face defending champions Uganda in CECAFA today

    Kenya national women’s soccer team, Harambee Starlets, will take on  defending champions, the Crested Cranes of Uganda, today evening in their 2nd match of the ongoing CECAFA Women’s Championship in Dares Salaam,Tanzania.

    Having beaten Burundi 3-0 in their opening match last Sunday, Beldime Odemba’s squad will be looking for their second win of the tournament.

    After losing to Burundi by a single goal in their opening match, the Crested Cranes went on to thrash South Sudan 5-0 in their second match.

    The match will kick off at 7pm EAT at the Azam Sports Complex in Chamazi.

    Two-time champions Twiga Stars from Tanzania will face Burundi in the 4pm kickoff, both sides tied on three points.

  • Chelsea eye great escape against Barcelona in Women’s Champions League

    Chelsea eye great escape against Barcelona in Women’s Champions League

    Quadruple-chasing Chelsea have a mountain to climb as they seek to overturn a 4-1 deficit against Barcelona on Sunday to reach the Women’s Champions League final.

    Sonia Bompastor’s side conceded two late goals in the first leg of the tie in Spain last week — a hammer blow to their hopes.

    Ewa Pajor put Barcelona in front at the Estadi Johan Cruyff and Claudia Pina doubled the hosts’ advantage with 20 minutes left.

    Sandy Baltimore pulled a goal back for the visitors but Irene Paredes struck in the 82nd minute and Pina scored again to put Barcelona in command of the tie.

    The two clubs are meeting at the semi-final stage of the competition for the third straight year.

    Barcelona have come out on top both times, going on to lift the trophy on both occasions.

    Last week’s painful defeat was just the second under Bompastor, who took over from Emma Hayes at the end of last season.

    Chelsea bounced back strongly in midweek, beating Crystal Palace 4-0 to move within touching distance of a sixth successive Women’s Super League (WSL) title.

    They are six points clear of nearest challengers Arsenal with just three games left to play.

    “Today, my plan was to be able to give the squad, first of all, the opportunity for some players to perform and show, but also to manage some players so they will have fresh legs going into the game on Sunday,” Bompastor said after the Palace win.

    “I think in those two aspects, everything was really positive too and there were no injuries.”

    – Chelsea dominance –
    Chelsea have been the dominant force in English women’s football in recent years and show no signs of easing up.

    The League Cup winners appear certain to wrap up the WSL title and face Manchester United in the Women’s FA Cup final next month.

    But they have never won the Women’s Champions League — they finished as runners-up to Barcelona in 2021 and have lost four times at the semi-final stage.

    The omens are not good for Chelsea, who have won only two of their previous 11 semi-final matches, while Barcelona have never lost a Women’s Champions League tie after winning the first leg.

    On the plus side, they have already shown their powers of recovery this season — overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Manchester City in the quarter-finals to win 3-2 on aggregate.

    England midfielder Keira Walsh, who previously played for Barcelona, is certainly not giving up hope that Chelsea can pull off a comeback for the ages.

    “We were probably a little bit too open in the second half and credit to Barcelona, they punished us,” she said.

    “But the tie isn’t over. They’ve still got to come to Stamford Bridge and we’re going to give it our all to turn things around.

    “It’s going to be tough to turn around a three-goal deficit, but we’ve done it before. We showed that against Manchester City, so we know we are capable of achieving this.”

    The winners will meet Arsenal or Lyon in the final in Lisbon on May 24.

  • Arsenal stun Madrid, Lyon thrash Bayern in women’s Champions League quarters

    Arsenal stun Madrid, Lyon thrash Bayern in women’s Champions League quarters

    Arsenal’s women produced a thrilling fightback from a 2-0 first leg defeat to beat Real Madrid 3-0 on Wednesday and set up a Champions League semi-final with eight-time winners Lyon.

    Alessia Russo scored twice for the Gunners in front of a crowd of 22,517 at the Emirates, either side of Mariona Caldentey’s header, to fire Arsenal into the last four.

    Madrid arrived in London full of confidence after beating Barcelona for the first time in a women’s Clasico on Sunday.

    However, the Spanish giants were made to wait for a first Champions League semi-final by a dominant Arsenal performance.

    “It still feels a bit surreal right now, I’ve not really let it sink in yet,” said Russo of her best night since a high-profile move from Manchester United in 2023.

    “We had a lot of belief all week, we knew what we wanted to do, we knew what we were capable of as a team and we have done that tonight.”

    The home side’s pressure bore no fruit before the half-time break and indeed they were thankful to a fine save from Daphne van Domselaar that prevented Filippa Angeldahl from adding to Madrid’s aggregate advantage.

    Three goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half transformed the tie.

    Russo swept home Chloe Kelly’s dangerous cross just seconds after the restart.

    Kelly then picked out former Barcelona midfielder Caldentey to head in just three minutes later.

    Russo produced an acrobatic finish to complete the comeback on the hour mark after Madrid failed to deal with a free-kick into the box.

    The England striker thought she had a memorable hat-trick only for VAR to intervene and rule out an Arsenal fourth for offside.

    But Renee Slegers’ side held out to march into the semi-finals, where the French champions will be waiting.

    Lyon thrashed Bayern Munich 4-1 to advance 6-1 on aggregate in their quest for a record-extending ninth title.

    Klara Buehl gave Bayern hope with a first-half strike that reduced Lyon’s two-goal advantage from last week’s first leg in Germany.

    Lyon levelled on the night moments into the second half through Melchie Dumornay’s header before Kadidiatou Diani punished a defensive error to put the French champions in complete control.

    Malawi international Tabitha Chawinga grabbed Lyon’s third and former Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg came off the bench to round off the scoring in stoppage time.

    Three-time winners Barcelona hold a 4-1 lead over Wolfsburg ahead of Thursday’s quarter-final, second leg in Spain.

    Meanwhile, English champions Chelsea must follow Arsenal’s lead in overturning a two-goal first leg deficit against Manchester City.