Harambee Starlets Suffer Second Straight Loss Amid Uncertainty Over When and Where WAFCON 2026 Will Be Held

Harambee Starlets lost a second straight match following a 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Wednesday.

Kenya, who are preparing for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, improved somewhat but still could not secure victory at the Alassane Ouattara Ebimpé Olympic Stadium.

The Ivorians scored the lone goal through Valencia forward Rebecca Elloh after 21 minutes and Kenya had no response as they ended their tour of Ivory Coast with two losses from as many matches.

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Beldine Odemba’s charges had suffered a 2-0 loss to Benin in another friendly match on Monday and they will now head into their final preparations knowing the key areas they need to work on.

Following their matches in West Africa, the team will travel to Miramas, France, for a residential training camp. This final phase of preparation, running until March 15, with the tournament scheduled between March 17 and April 3.

However, doubts remain over whether WAFCON 2026 will actually take place in Morocco and this month after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) hinted at a possible change.

CAF Head of TV and Communication, Luxolo September said on Wednesday that the continental body will issue a statement in 48 hours regarding when and where the tournament will be held and it looks like there could be changes which might adversely affect the qualified teams.

“CAF will communicate within the next 48 hours on the situation regarding the #TotalEnergiesWAFCON26. There have been several discussions for weeks. The matter is receiving urgent and high-level attention,” September posted on X.

Morocco, which was initially selected as host nation, is reportedly not keen to stage the tournament while South Africa have expressed a willingness to come to CAF’s rescue, and there are reports that WAFCON 2026 could even be switched to August, a scenario that has left teams fearing the worst.

At WAFCON 2026, Kenya are in a tough Group A and will begin their campaign against Morocco on March 17 before playing Senegal on March 20 while their final group stage match against Algeria is on March 23.