Kenyan football entered a new era on 17 October 2024 in the Dominican Republic. It was a baptism of fire for the Junior Starlets, who came out second best in a 2-0 loss to England. The match marked their first appearance in a FIFA women’s competition – the U-17 Women’s World Cup, to be precise.

The young Kenyans made more history less than a week later, scoring their first ever goal and securing their first win as they beat Mexico 2-1 in their final group game. For Doreen Nabwire, a true icon of Kenyan women’s football, it represents just one of many chapters of a fairy tale in which she is the heroine.

Born in a poor neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya, Nabwire developed a passion for football at an early age. Having made her international debut at just 15, she made a name for herself a few years later during a street football tournament in Berlin, Germany. Her performances earned her a feature in a documentary. She would go on to sign for Werder Bremen, becoming the first female Kenyan player to play professionally in Europe, where she finished as the club’s top goalscorer.

Forced to call time on her career following an injury, she returned to Kenya to turn her attention to coaching. There, she worked with an NGO and a Kenyan Premier League team.

Nabwire then joined the ranks of the Football Kenya Federation in 2016 and was named team manager of the Kenyan women’s national team in the same year. A few years later, the Junior Starlets qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Dominican Republic 2024™, thanks in part to what she has done for the sport’s development in her home country.

“Qualifying for this tournament is a dream come true,” she told Inside FIFA. “To think that these are girls are under 17, some as young as 15, who have made history for Kenya in becoming the first team in the country’s history to qualify for the U-17 Women’s World Cup, it’s amazing.

“It’s especially emotional for someone like me who has been involved in football for quite a long time. It was one of my dreams. And since I couldn’t do it when I was a player, I promised myself that I would contribute to the growth and development of women’s football in Kenya in any way possible. Today, I’m living the dream,” she insisted.

It is indeed a magical moment, but it has not happened by chance. A great deal of effort has gone into making this dream a reality. First and foremost, the sport needed to be promoted in a country where football has long been reserved for men. The implementation of the FIFA Women’s Development Programme in 2020 has facilitated this progress. The FIFA Women’s Football Strategy, the Women’s Football Campaign, Club Licensing, and League Development have all been levers for growth.

“There have been a number of challenges. There are still strong religious and social barriers, among others. But we finally managed to launch these programmes,” explained the Kenyan, who provided the necessary impetus. “Leagues have been set up in even the most marginalised regions. Currently, there are around 30 centres which actively manage U-13 and U-15 competitions for girls and boys, also forming a part of the Football for Schools Programme."

In short, Kenyan women’s football is heading in the right direction. “Excellent youth development structures have been put in place. This Women’s Football Development Programme and the FIFA Football for Schools Programme have laid strong foundations for progress, and it’s why we are in a position to form a solid national U-17 team which has had the chance to represent the country in the Dominican Republic,” she continued. “We now have a clear vision about what the development path can be for our players, and of the route required to reach the FIFA U-17 and U-20 tournaments.”

While Kenya has benefitted from different FIFA-approved initiatives to develop women’s football, the sport’s governing body also had the privilege of welcoming Nabwire to the first edition of the Women in Football Leadership Programme in 2019. Now a yearly event, this one-week training session has several objectives: to create a women’s football network, to evaluate and reinforce the participants’ management skills and enable them to take up management roles within their respective national associations or confederations.

“I learnt a lot from the experience, the presentations and the coaches that we worked with at the workshop. This changed my outlook on things at an operational level. The way I organise my activities and how I manage my relationships with the various stakeholders are no longer the same,” said Nabwire. “It really helped me navigate and manoeuvre around any challenges I came across.”

When all is said and done, the Kenyan has spent her life taking on ever more ambitious challenges. “I am very proud of what I’ve achieved,” she asserted. “It gives me immense joy to have succeeded, in just six years, in implementing these mechanisms, programmes and activities that were able to lead us to this FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2024.”

Unfortunately, Kenya were prematurely knocked out of the competition, but “the future is bright and the future is for women, for Kenyans, as it is for girls all around the world,” Nabwire said before concluding: “This is for all the girls who dream of playing football: know that there are plenty of opportunities for you. Women’s football is now a force to be reckoned with. It will not be put to one side ever again!”