‘We Are Too Far Behind’ - Harambee Starlets Forward Gets Candid After Woeful WAFCON Campaign

Harambee Starlets forward Violet Nanjala has given her honest take on what led to their poor run at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON 2026) which ended at the group stage.

Kenya were the worst team in Group A, finishing bottom without a point or goal. They started with a 4-0 loss to Morocco before a slim 1-0 defeat by Senegal and on Monday, Algeria handed them a 2-0 defeat.

In all their matches, Starlets made many basic mistakes in and out of possession as well as in defence, while they lacked coordination most of the time. Kenya also fluffed their lines whenever they got opportunities to score, leading to a poor campaign for the Beldine Odemba-coached side.

Nanjala feels the team paid the price not just for a lack of proper preparations but also non-investment in women’s football for a long time, something that their rivals are reaping from.

“We will go back to rectify our mistakes and hopefully when we come back, things will be better,” Nanjala said after the match.

“We need to work hard because if you compare our game with that of Senegal, Morocco and Algeria, we are too far behind. So we need to fight a lot so that we can close the gap and with time, things will be fine.”

Nanjala hopes Kenya can learn from this and ensure they are part of the tournament consistently and not return after a decade as it has been this time.

“Even if you look at these teams we are playing against, the levels are higher compared to ours. If we prepare well and consistently qualify, we will be okay. You cannot compare us and Morocco when it comes to football,” she added.

“They support women’s football more and we also need this kind of support and in every international window, we should play good friendly games so that we get that experience and consistency.”

Another issue that the forward feels has let Kenya down is the constant changes in the team which has not allowed the squad to build a good understanding from playing together for so long.

“The problem for us is that we play this tournament then the next you are not in the team but if you look at these big teams, players have 40, 45 caps and they are still playing so I think if we are together as a team, it will help us,” Nanjala further stated.