Kenya's women's football national team, Harambee Starlets, have provisionally risen five positions in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, moving up to 128th globally, following an impressive outing at the concluded FIFA Women’s Series held in Nairobi.
Kenya’s rise from 133rd is a resurgence for the national side, buoyed by a string of positive results during the ranking period, and after the just-concluded first edition of the FIFA Series at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi last Wednesday.
The current improvement is considered provisional, pending FIFA’s approval of all recent matches as official international ‘A’ fixtures, with the next official ranking update scheduled for April 21, 2026.
Harambee Starlets began their four-country tourney, FIFA series in Nairobi on Saturday, April 11 against India, a game that saw Vihiga Queens prodigy Martha Amunyolete scoring early in the second minute, and target striker Tereza Engesha from national women's league defending champions Police Bullets completing a 2-0 win with a 57th-minute winner.
On Wednesday at the same venue, Kenya finally met three times Ocenia Football Confederation (OFC) champions and 2010 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) champion, Australia's Matildas, an intense final that saw Beldine Odemba's charges cramble at the feet of the visitors, a Joe Montemurro guided side that won 2-0, to claim the inaugural championship on Kenya's home soil.
"We have worked hard and finally got to the final, a dream final against a top-ranked women's national team globally. My girls really gave in a fight for their lives. I am happy that we have also shown what we have as Kenyans," Kenya's head coach Beldine Odemba told the media on Wednesday after the game.
Despite this FIFA Series final defeat, Kenya’s overall record of four wins in their last five matches have earned them crucial ranking points at the Fifa level, a country that sits second within the CECAFA zone, trailing Tanzania women's national football team (121st) while maintaining an edge over Uganda women's national football team (146th), signaling a shifting balance of power in East African women’s football.
Odemba's charges now shift focus to the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations ( WAFCON) scheduled for July 25 - August 16 in Morocco, but wary after being drawn in group A, alongside hosts Morocco, Algeria, and Senegal, a challenging upcoming task as Kenya now will look to build on the concluded Fifa series momentum and the Fifa rankings boost.
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