Kenya’s Junior Starlets drawn against the USA at FIFA U-17 World Cup in Morocco

The tenth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup will take place in Morocco from October 17th to November 7th, with 24 sides set to battle it out to be crowned as global champions.

The group stage, Round of 16 and quarter-finals matches will all be hosted at the Women's Football Complex, before the semi-finals, bronze final and final take place at Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium.

The teams that will battle for top honours include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China PR, France, Germany, Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Korea DPR, Mexico, Morocco (host), New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Spain, USA, Venezuela, and Zambia.

After missing the 2025 edition, Kenya are back for just their second appearance at the finals following a pair of victories over South Africa.

Kenya brought a 2-0 lead back to Nairobi, and while South Africa cut the deficit early in the second leg, three unanswered goals saw them return to the global stage in style.

Kenya to start against China PR

Following the success, the Junior Starlets have now been drawn in Group E alongside the United States of America, China PR and Samoa.

The Junior Starlets begin their World Cup campaign against China PR on Monday, October 19th, before taking on USA on Thursday, October 22nd.

Kenya under coach Mildred Cheche, will then conclude the group stage against Samoa on Sunday, October 25th. Kenya will make history as they compete on the global stage once again.

With the World Cup just months away, the team will be aiming to carry the belief and resilience that defined their qualification journey into Morocco as they seek to make another memorable chapter in Kenyan football history.

Kenya will play all their Group E fixtures at the Women’s Football Complex in Rabat as they bid for a place in the knockout rounds.

Ghana, who qualified for a first final since Uruguay 2018 following a nail-biting shootout win over Senegal, have been drawn in Group C to take on Brazil, Canada and Norway.

Nigeria Flamingos will be in Group B alongside Korea DPR, Poland and Puerto Rico, while Zambia, who downed Ethiopia to ensure they will play at a third straight showpiece, will face France, Japan and Venezuela in Group D.

For Zambia, coach Carol Kanyemba’s Copper Princesses will renew their rivalry with Japan with whom they faced in 2024 at the Dominican Republican tournament and 2025 in Morocco with the Japanese emerging 4-1 winners and 2-0 victors respectively.

Zambia will open its account on 18 October at the Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium (Pitch 2) against Japan before facing France four days later Pitch 4.

The final group game will be against Venezuela on Independence on Pitch 4 of the same facility. Top two teams in each group will automatically qualify to the round of 16 in the 24-team tournament while four slots will go to the best third placed teams. 

Zambia has qualified for three consecutive FIFA World Cups at under-17 level adding to the nation’s four-time record appearances.