Kenya's Harambee Starlets Maintain Global Ranking Ahead of CECAFA Championship

Kenya’s Senior Women’s National Team, the Harambee Starlets, have maintained their position at 142 in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings released today. 

This unchanged ranking comes after a challenging period for the team, which suffered defeats in three matches against Morocco (5-1) and Ivory Coast (two 2-0 losses) during the latest FIFA International windows.

Kenya notably made a seven-place leap in March after clobbering Tunisia away to qualify for the final round of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Among their CECAFA neighbors, the Starlets rank competitively but currently trail behind Ethiopia 127 and Tanzania 137.Uganda follows at 148, Rwanda at 166 ,Burundi at 178, South Sudan at 193 and Djibouti at 195. Eritrea and Sudan remain unranked.

On the African continent, Nigeria remains the top-ranked women's team at 36th globally, followed by South Africa (54th), Morocco (60th), Zambia (64th), and Ghana (65th). The Harambee Starlets' position at 142 places them 24th in Africa.

The Harambee Starlets are now in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for the CECAFA Senior Women’s Championship, which runs from June 13 to June 22, 2025. The five-nation tournament, featuring Kenya, hosts Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, and South Sudan, serves as a vital preparatory platform for the team’s upcoming WAFCON qualifier final round fixture.

The Starlets, under the guidance of head coach Beldine Odemba, aim to reclaim the regional title they last won in 2019, when they defeated Tanzania 2-0 in the final.

The Starlets' next competitive FIFA window is a crucial two-legged WAFCON qualifier against Gambia, scheduled for October 20 (home) and October 28 (away). A victory on aggregate will secure Kenya’s place in the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, marking their return to the continental stage for the first time since their debut in 2016.