Kenya’s Junior Stars will know their opponents in the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2027 CECAFA qualifiers on Wednesday, 23 September, when the zonal draw takes place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.The draw will take place at the Azam TV studios, with CECAFA Competitions Manager Yusuf Mossi confirming that 10 Member Associations have registered for the qualifiers.
Kenya will be joined by defending champions Tanzania, hosts Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.The qualifiers will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 10-20 October, with the top three teams qualifying for the 2027 U-17 AFCON.
The Junior Stars will be looking to improve on their performance in the 2025 CECAFA U-17 qualifiers in Addis Ababa, where they finished fourth.Wobbling Gor Mahia lose again to Tusker in pre-season friendlyKenya progressed to the semi-finals after finishing second in their group.
They drew 1-1 with Somalia, beat Rwanda 2-1, and South Sudan 2-0 before losing 1-0 to hosts Ethiopia. In the semi-final, they fell 3-1 to eventual champions Tanzania, with Armstrong Omondi scoring Kenya’s goal, before losing 3-0 to Ethiopia in the third-place playoff.
Tanzania enter this year’s competition as defending champions after beating Uganda in last year’s final in Ethiopia. The draw will therefore give Kenya an early indication of the teams standing between the Junior Stars and one of the three available AFCON places.
Preparation could again be an important factor for Kenya. William Muluya, who coached the Junior Stars in the previous campaign, previously highlighted the advantage enjoyed by regional rivals who assemble their squads early and give their players regular competitive football.
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“From my experience with Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia, if you look closely at Tanzania and Uganda, these are teams that have been together for not less than a year.Ethiopia have been in camp for at least three months. All the teams that qualified for AFCON prepared early. Good player selection and early, consistent preparation have been key.”Muluya also called for the early identification of players and a structured competitive programme for the age group.“
If we can get it right by selecting players as early as now and bringing them together, ensuring they play competitively like Tanzania’s youngsters who feature in a strong under-20 league supported by two solid centres of excellence, then I believe we will be on the right track.”It remains to be confirmed whether Muluya will continue in charge of the Junior Stars for the 2027 qualifiers.