Cameroon’s Baby Lionesses out to avoid repeat mistakes against Junior Starlets
Cameroon U17 women’s team are wary of Kenya’s Junior Starlets ahead of their FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier in Yaoundé, with coach stressing they won’t take the East African side lightly following recent setbacks against CECAFA teams.
Cameroon Women U17, popularly known as the Baby Lionesses, are not taking any chances against Kenya’s Junior Starlets as the two sides prepare to clash in the first leg of the final qualifying round for the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup at the Nyayo National Stadium this Sunday.
The return leg will be played in Yaoundé on Friday, April 25, 2025. While Kenya will be aiming to qualify for back-to-back World Cups for the first time in history, Cameroon are determined to avoid another painful setback on the road to the global stage. The Baby Lionesses last featured at the U17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay in 2018, having made their debut in Jordan two years earlier.
Cameroon’s recent history in qualifiers has been marked by disappointment. After the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 edition in India, they failed to qualify for both the 2022 and 2024 tournaments, suffering surprise eliminations to Tanzania and Uganda, respectively.
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Now drawn against another East African opponent, Cameroonian sports journalist Fabrice Dewah, who writes for The Guardian Post, told The Eastleigh Voice that the Baby Lionesses will approach the tie with a new level of seriousness.
“When we faced Tanzania in 2022 and Uganda in 2024, we underestimated them, believing East African teams were still football underdogs,” Dewah says. “This time, we can’t afford such complacency. We’re not underestimating Kenya.”
Dewah described East Africa as a “hot market” for female football talent, noting that recent performances across the continent reflect the region’s growth in the women’s game.
“Now, strong women’s teams are emerging all over Africa. Morocco in the north, South Africa and Zambia in the south, Equatorial Guinea and ourselves in Central Africa, and of course Ghana and Nigeria in the west. In East Africa, it’s not just the Junior and Harambee Starlets - teams like Tanzania’s Simba Queens are also excelling at club level. It’s risky to overlook anyone these days,” he says.
Dewah revealed that Cameroon had been anticipating a potential clash with Kenya since the qualifying draw was conducted in Cairo on December 12, 2024.
“When we saw the qualification path, we immediately identified Kenya as the toughest possible opponent. We were confident of beating Egypt in the first round and Ethiopia in the second. We also expected Kenya to overpower Uganda,” he explained.
Cameroon reached this stage after thrashing Egypt 6-0 on aggregate and easing past Ethiopia 6-2. The Junior Starlets, one of three seeded teams along with Nigeria and Zambia, were exempted from the first round and later dismissed Uganda 5-0 on aggregate to set up the highly anticipated clash.
Having followed Kenya’s campaign closely, Dewah was full of praise for the Junior Starlets and their senior national team coach, Beldine Odemba.
“The Junior Starlets are a confident and well-organised team. As Cameroonian fans, we hope the Baby Lionesses won’t suffer the same fate as our senior side did when the Harambee Starlets knocked us out of WAFCON 2024 qualifiers,” he said.
He recalled how Odemba’s commanding presence on the touchline left a lasting impression.
“She exuded such confidence during those two games. That defeat to Kenya was one of our lowest moments - it ended our streak of WAFCON qualifications since 1995,” he added.
Dewah believes current Baby Lionesses coach Joseph Ndoko has what it takes to match Odemba’s tactical acumen.
“Ndoko is an experienced coach. He led the Indomitable Lionesses to a third-place finish at WAFCON 2018, earning a World Cup slot in 2019. Although he was replaced by Alain Djeumfa before the tournament in France, he laid much of the groundwork,” said Dewah.
On the pitch, Ndoko’s style mirrors that of Junior Starlets coach Mildred Cheche - organised and balanced, blending solid defence with an attacking edge.
“Ndoko is not a purely defensive or offensive coach. His teams are disciplined and play good football, as their recent results show,” Dewah noted.
He also highlighted the Cameroonian federation’s backing of women’s football. Ndoko benefits from FECAFOOT’s structured support, spearheaded by Enow Ngachu, director of the national football academy and former Indomitable Lionesses coach.
“Ngachu led the team to the 2014 and 2016 WAFCON finals and their first World Cup in 2015. Now, he’s overseeing multiple development programmes aimed at lifting women’s football in Cameroon,” Dewah shared.
Ndoko has named 28 players for the two-legged tie, including Ange Tazanou and Lys Fraîche Tiwa, the team’s top scorers in the qualifiers with five and three goals respectively.
Both are emerging stars. Tiwa, voted 2024 Revelation of the Year at Cameroon’s football awards, has scored 20 league goals and netted a recent hat-trick. Tazanou, meanwhile, made headlines by scoring seven goals in one match for her amateur side in western Cameroon.
“Most of our current squad are fresh faces,” Dewah said. “Unlike Kenya, few players from our 2024 squad remain. Many have moved up to the U20 or senior teams.”
In contrast, the Junior Starlets have eight players from their 2024 World Cup team still in the squad—Elizabeth Ochaka, Halima Imbachi, Jenevieve Mithel, Joan Ogola, Lindi Weey Atieno, Lorine Ilavonga, Scovia Awuor, and Velma Abwire.
Both teams are fine-tuning their preparations in similar fashion, with friendly matches against domestic sides. Cameroon drew 1-1 with Dja Sports Academy and thrashed Mintack 11-0. Kenya, on the other hand, played two friendlies against Morocco earlier this month - drawing the first 1-1 and winning the second 2-0.
Dewah considered those friendlies pivotal.
“While Kenya has been dominant in regional qualifiers, Morocco provided them with a different level of test. Until then, they hadn’t faced teams outside the CECAFA zone,” he said.
His view mirrored that of Junior Starlets captain Halima Imbachi, who commented after their return from Morocco:
“Morocco gave us the kind of test we needed ahead of facing Cameroon. They’re similar in terms of physicality and that helped us identify what we need to improve.”
The Junior Starlets are unbeaten in their last six FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier matches, winning five and scoring 13 goals without conceding.
Having played Ethiopia, Burundi, and Uganda during that run, Cameroon will be their first non-CECAFA opponent in a qualifier since facing Nigeria in 2012.
A win over Cameroon would send Kenya back to the World Cup for a second time, following their debut in the Dominican Republic last year.
This year’s expanded tournament, featuring 24 teams, will take place in Morocco from October 17 to November 8.
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