By Vincent Obi
Cairo – Kenya on Sunday became the third African country to officially qualify for the Under-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup 2024, to be held in the Dominican Republic.
In their two-leg qualifier against Burundi, Kenya eliminated Burundi via a 5-0 aggregate score.
Kenya won the first leg 3-0 at home and won 2-0 away for the 5-0 aggregate score.
The win ensures that Kenya joined Nigeria and Zambia to officially go through to the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria and Zambia qualified for the global showpiece after weekend victories in their second-leg African qualifiers for the world cup, set for the Dominican Republic between 16 October and 3 November, 2024.
Nigeria were the first African team to secure a place at the women’s youth competition after defeating Liberia 6-1 on aggregate.
It was smooth sailing for the Nigerians following their comfortable 4-1 away win last weekend.
Going into the return leg on Friday, 14 June, with the backing of the home supporters in Abuja, Harmony Chidi’s brace secured a comfortable 2-0 victory for the west African nation, which was more than enough to see them become the first African nation to secure a place at the finals.
Zambia on Saturday, 15 June, won their match against Morocco and this saw them return to the tournament after a 10-year absence.
The job was as good as done in Ndola when Namute Chileshe’s stunning hattrick secured a 3-1 win for the Southern African side in the first leg
Going into the return leg in Morocco, the Zambians kept Morocco at bay for a goalless stalemate.