Kenya Women’s Under-17 national team head coach Mildred Cheche says the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) is in talks with the Ministry of Education to find a solution for players in exams at a time when the FIFA U17 World Cup will be taking place.
Eight Junior Starlets players will be required to sit the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Exams (KCSE) during the period of the FIFA U17 World Cup set for the Dominican Republic.
The Junior Starlets qualified for the maiden World Cup, which will take place from October 16 to November 3 to become the first Kenyan national team ever to qualify for any FIFA World Cup.
The KCSE exams are set to start on October 22, six days after the kick-off of the FIFA U17 World Cup.
Cheche has revealed that the players will have remedial classes, with plans for them to do special exams after the World Cup.
“They have remedial classes. They are going to have to do some special exams,” Cheche told Pulse Sports. “We are hoping to see if the form fours in the group will be able to sit exams after the rest [of the country] so that they can be able to participate at the World Cup.”
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The FKF also revealed that the team will have a three-week camp in Marbella, Spain, in September to tune up for the tournament. The camp will take place in the third academic term.
However, FKF president Nick Mwendwa states that every player who was part of the historic achievement must be at the tournament.
“I spoke to the Minister about it, and I told him that we will not leave any girl behind because of Form Four exams,” Mwendwa told Capital Sport.
“The World Cup will come only once in a lifetime, but an exam can always be re-booked. We can rebook to have them do it in March. I cannot leave any girl behind when they have worked so hard to go to the World Cup.”
Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia are the three African teams that qualified for the 2024 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
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