Kenya’s Harambee Starlets will hope to usher in a new era under interim head coach Godfrey Oduor with a convincing victory when they meet Seychelles in the first leg of the 2028 CAF Women’s Olympic Qualifiers on Thursday, October 8, 2026.
The match will be played at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi at 3:00pm, with Seychelles officially designated as the hosts despite the fixture being staged in Kenya. The island nation’s national stadium, Stad Linite, was banned several months ago after failing to meet FIFA and CAF standards.
The encounter will be the first-ever meeting between the two countries, with Starlets entering as overwhelming favourites based on the teams’ respective records.
Seychelles have played 18 matches since August 2015, most of them friendlies. They have won just once, drawn twice and lost 15 times. Their solitary victory came in 2022 when they himbled Maldives 4-0 in a friendly.
The islanders have netted only 12 goals while conceding 135 during that period. They head into Thursday’s contest having suffered nine consecutive losses, conceding 77 goals and scoring just twice.
Kenya, meanwhile, have recorded 21 wins, seven draws and 22 defeats in their recent international history. However, Starlets will be looking to put behind them a disappointing 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Morocco.
Kenya replaced head coach Beldine Odemba after the disastrous tournament, where Starlets exited at the group stage without a point or a goal. They suffered 4-0 to hosts Morocco, 2-0 to Algeria and 1-0 to Senegal.
Oduor has since taken charge on interim basis.
On Tuesday, Oduor trimmed a provisional squad of 43 players to 25 as Kenya begin their latest attempt to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Kenya have previously tried to reach the women’s Olympic football tournament on three occasions, without success.
Their first attempt came in 2004, when they received a walkover against Uganda in the opening round before conceding another walkover to Nigeria in the second round. Kenya did not enter the qualification competitions for the 2008 and 2012 Games.
They returned in the 2016 qualifiers, eliminating Botswana on the away-goals rule after a 2-2 aggregate score before South Africa ended their campaign with a 2-0 aggregate victory.
Kenya’s strongest bid came during the 2020 qualification campaign. Starlets trounced Malawi 5-3 in the second round and Ghana 1-0 in the third before Zambia prevailed 3-2 in the final round to secure qualification for the Olympics.
Kenya skipped the 2024 Olympic qualifiers, but are now back for a fourth attempt, hoping to finally make history.
The Olympic qualification bid will involve 35 African nations competing across five rounds of two-legged ties, with only two countries ultimately earning places at the 2028 Games.
The second leg between Kenya and Seychelles will also be played at Ulinzi Sports Complex on October 12 at 3.00pm. The winners on aggregate will advance to the third round, scheduled for February and March 2027.
For Oduor and his charges, Thursday’s fixture provides an opportunity to make a statement, rebuild confidence after the WAFCON disappointment and take the first step towards Kenya’s long-awaited Olympic dream.
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