Vihiga Queens relish their chance in inaugural regional women club cup championship – KBC

Reigning Football Kenya Federation women’s premier league champions Vihiga  United,intensified  their preparations ahead of their participation in the forthcoming inaugural  Council for East and Central  Africa Football Associations’ ,CECAFA, women’s Champions League tournament.

Kenya is set to host the tourney July 17^th-August 1^st that will bring together clubs from 11 countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi, and Zanzibar.

The winner will represent the region at the inaugural 8 team CAF Women’s Champions league in Morocco in November.

Vihiga Queens head coach Alex Alumira will rely on the teams’ recent dominance of the league saying the championship offers an opportunity to her players to  be scouted.

‘’We want to try the best we can because we are sure if we win the tournament and head to the main event in morocco, our players will be scouted and possibly get deals to move out of the club and  this will give a chance to the club to continue grooming more talent from the grassroot’’, Alumira said .

Enez Mango, the club’s captain said despite the Covid-19 restrictions hampering their preparations they were still following training routines designed by their coaches.

‘’As we prepare for this cecafa women’s champions league though covid restrictions has brought its challenges whereby we are not allowed to gather our coaches have prepared training routines that we are following to stay in shape’’,Enez said.

19 year old  Harambee Starlets forward Gentrix Shikangwa who emerged  top scorer as Starlets lifted the 2019 CECAFA Women’s title, is relishing her chance of playing at the regional tournament.

‘’ I like coming off the bench after studying the game,even the coach would know  that if I start I don’t play so well, so I would come in as a substitute and follow coach’s instructions and sometimes I would score one or two goals’’, Shikangwa said.

Shikangwa who hopes to ply her trade in Europe was thankful of the support she has received from her family in her budding football career. Shikangwa comes from a sports family with her elder sister Jackline Ashiza having turned out for Harambee Starlets while her brother Derick Anami plays for Football Kenya Federation premier league side Zoo Fc.

‘’My family has been very supportive I went to high school without paying school fee because it was through football scholarship, I would like to play for a football club in England, and I would like to come back and help the rest as well’’,Shikangwa remarked.

Vihiga Queens has intensified its training at Kidundu Grounds,albeit conducted in groups in observance of COVID 19 restrictions which head coach Alumira however said had limiting success.

‘’We have to train in small groups whereby you cannot achieve all the aspects of the game. If you train strikers with no defenders and then train defenders with no strikers ,it becomes a challenge to achieve the aspects that you want to’’, Alumira noted.

Founded in 2014,Vihiga Queens has won the Women’s premier league title three times.

About CAF Women’s Champions League

The Caf Women’s Champions League was approved by the Caf Executive Committee in June 2020, with the annual tournament set to start in 2021.

Each of the Six CAF Zones will organize qualifiers to determine the finalists for the eight (8) team tournament.

The six qualifying zones are:

Council of South African Football Associations (Cosafa)

Union of Football Federations of Central Africa (Uniffac)

West African Football Union (Wafu) Zone A

Wafu Zone B

Union of North African Football Associations (Unaf)

Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa)

Six winners from each zone will qualify for the tournament proper, with league champion of the host country and an additional team (wildcard) making up the final eight.

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