The Junior Starlets achieved a landmark following their 5-0 aggregate victory against Burundi in the final round of the qualifiers. Having won the first leg 3-0 away at Abebe Bikila Stadium in Ethiopia, the Junior Starlets triumphed 2-0 in the return leg at Ulinzi Complex on Sunday, June 16th, 2023, to become the first Kenyan national team to qualify for a World Cup.

The Junior Starlets’ success saw them feted by the Kenyan government, who rewarded them with Ksh10 million, with the money to be shared amongst the team’s officials and players.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) further promised to accord the Starlets top-notch preparations with FKF’s President Nick Mwendwa confirming to Flashscore that the team will camp in Spain for three weeks in readiness for the global tournament.

“We have a plan for the U17 (after the historic success), they have trained when it is rainy and sunny, and now we are going to put them in Spain for three weeks starting in September, they will go to Marbella and then from Spain they will head directly to the Dominican Republic ahead of the tournament,” Mwendwa told Flashscore.

When is the U17 tournament and history?

The 2024 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup will be held in the Dominican Republic from October 16th to November 3rd. This will be the first time the Dominican Republic has hosted a FIFA tournament.

The first-ever U17 tournament, won by North Korea, was held in 2008 in New Zealand from October 28th to November 16th. Four cities hosted matches during the inaugural tournament – North Shore City (North Harbour Stadium), Hamilton (Waikato Stadium), Wellington (Wellington Stadium), and Christchurch (QEII Park).

The second edition in 2010, was held in Trinidad and Tobago from September 5th to 25th. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part with South Korea emerging as the winners.

The third edition of the women’s tournament was held in Azerbaijan from September 22nd to October 13th in 2012, following a decision by FIFA’s executive committee on March 19th, 2010. Defending champions South Korea failed to qualify for the tournament allowing France to clinch the title after a 7-6 penalty shootout win following a 1-1 result in regular time.

The fourth edition was hosted in Costa Rica in 2014, and it was Japan, who emerged as winners after beating Spain 2-0 in the final. In 2016, the tournament moved to Jordan, with North Korea winning their second title and in 2018 it was held in Uruguay.

North Korea, who were the defending champions, were eliminated by Spain in the quarter-finals. The final took place at the Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo between Spain and Mexico a rematch from the group stage in 2016 and Spain won their first title, beating Mexico 2-1.

The seventh edition in 2022, was hosted in India, which would have hosted the 2020 edition before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the second time India were hosting a FIFA tournament, after the men’s 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup, and the first time that India hosted a FIFA women’s football tournament.

Morocco, and Tanzania, alongside hosts India, debuted in the tournament with Spain successfully defending their title. The 2024 edition in the Dominican Republic will be the final edition to feature 16 teams before expanding to 24 teams in 2025 and will be the final edition to be held biannually.

When is the draw & which teams have qualified?

The official draw will take place on June 22nd, 2024 at the Monument to Fray Anton de Montesinos in Santo Domingo.

The teams were allocated based on their performances in the five previous U17 Women’s World Cups, five bonus points are added to each of the confederation’s current champions that won the respective qualifying tournament (for this cycle).

The hosts Dominican Republic are automatically seeded and assigned to position A1 while teams of the same confederation will not meet in the group stage.

The teams that have qualified include Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, Japan, Kenya, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, USA, and Zambia.

Kenya’s Starlets have been pooled in Pot 4 alongside South Korea, Ecuador, and Poland. Pot 1 will have Dominican Republic, Spain, Japan, and North Korea, Pot 2 comprise Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and New Zealand while Pot 3 will have Nigeria, Colombia, England, and Zambia.

Can I follow the draw live?

The draw will be live on the FIFA official website and social media pages from (1800hrs).

Which cities and venues will host matches?

The cities of Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo were confirmed by the Dominican Football Federation on April 29th, 2024, to host the competition.

Santiago de los often shortened to Santiago, is the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population. It is the capital of Santiago Province and the largest major metropolis in the Cibao region of the country.

Meanwhile, Santo Domingo is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. As of 2022, the city and immediate surrounding area (the Distrito Nacional) had a population of 1,029,110 while the total population is 3,798,699 when including Greater Santo Domingo (the "metropolitan area").

The first venue will be the 8,000-capacity sitter Cibao FC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros. The stadium is currently used for football matches and hosts the home games of Cibao FC of the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol.

The second venue will be the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium, mostly used for football, track and field events, and has a sporting events' capacity of 27,000 people, though it has seen crowds of 35,000.

Previous participation of African teams?

Since the first edition, Ghana and Nigeria have had the largest share of participation, having featured in the tournament six times.

Cameroon have participated twice, the same number as South Africa, while the Gambia, Morocco, Tanzania, and Zambia have qualified once.

Meanwhile, Korea DPR and Spain have the most titles, two, while France, Japan, and Korea Republic have won the tournament once apiece.