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Harambee Starlets duo Diana Wacera (L) celebrates with Violet Nanjala after Kenya’s 4-0 win over Uganda at the ongoing Cecafa Senior Women’s Challenge Cup in Tanzanaia.[Harambee Starlets, X]
Kenya has been selected to host a number of FIFA Women’s Series matches after FIFA revised their schedule.
Harambee Starlets will now welcome Australia, India and Malawi after FIFA added one more group, which will be played in Africa.
The matches are set to take place between April 11 and April 15 at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said the tournament will be the first time Kenya hosts a FIFA global football event, highlighting that we were ready to deliver a memorable experience.
“I am pleased to announce that Kenya has once again been selected to host the 2026 FIFA Women’s Series Matches, marking a historic milestone as our country hosts a FIFA global football event for the very first time,” he said.
The FIFA Series is designed to bring together teams with a wide range of competitive profiles, from established international sides to emerging nations, thereby reinforcing FIFA’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable global football development.
Mvurya added that the approval to host reflected growing confidence in the country’s ability to host big sports events.
“This selection is a strong vote of confidence in Kenya’s proven hosting capability,” he explained.
He called on Kenyans to support the national teams, attributing the milestone to government efforts to transform the sports sector.
“Let us continue to uplift our players, inspire confidence, and demonstrate to the world the strength of Kenya’s football spirit,” he urged.
Five participating men’s teams have qualified for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026™: Australia, Cabo Verde, Curaçao, New Zealand and Uzbekistan.
On the men’s side, the schedules in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have been revised to reflect the withdrawals of Kuwait and Oman due to extraordinary circumstances. In Azerbaijan, the hosts will face Concacaf side St Lucia on 27 March and then Africa’s Sierra Leone on 30 March. In Kazakhstan, the host Hawks will be joined by African nations Comoros and Namibia in a triangular format contested on 25, 28 and 31 March.
The men’s fixtures for FIFA Series 2026 in Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Rwanda – the only FIFA MA hosting two groups – and Uzbekistan remain unchanged.
Approved by the FIFA Council in December 2022, the FIFA Series also strengthens holistic football development beyond the pitch. Hosting and participating MAs benefit from hands-on experience in event delivery, operational planning, referee development and competition organisation, mirroring the conditions of major international tournaments and strengthening capacity across multiple functional areas.