Rwanda’s women’s national team makes its debut in the qualifiers for the 9th African Women’s Championship (AWC), which will be held in Namibia later this year.
Coach Grace Nyinawumuntu’s side host Kenya this afternoon in the first leg of the preliminary round at Stade de Kigali.
“We are satisfied with our preparations and my team is ready for Kenya. Kenya has a good side but we are equally prepared and we should be able to beat them and qualify for the next round,” Nyinawumuntu told Sunday Sport.
Kenya’s Harambee Starlets head coach Justine Okiring expressed optimism that they will do well, “The match is very important to us since we want to qualify and we are ready to give return results.”
Sixteen (16) teams are involved in the first hurdle in the race for places for the ninth edition of the continental women’s football tournament.
Only seven places are up for grabs, to join hosts Namibia for the final tournament in October that also serves as the qualifier for the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Canada.
The second leg matches will take place on the weekend of February 28 to March 2 with the winners progressing to the second round to join African champions, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa and Cameroon, who got bye at the first round.
Qualifying Round
Today
Rwanda vs Kenya – 3.30pm
Zambia vs Tanzania
Burkina Faso vs Ghana
Ivory Coast vs Mali
Egypt vs Tunisia
Guinea Bissau vs Senegal
Botswana vs Zimbabwe
By Bonnie Mugabe, The New Times