Police Bullets off to a flyer in CAF CL qualifiers

Kenya Police Bullets tactician David Vijago is confident of winning the 2026 CECAFA Women’s Challenge and qualify for the CAF Women’s Champions League for the first time.

Vijago led the law enforcers to a winning start in the CAF Women’s Champions League CECAFA qualifiers after edging Tanzanian champions Simba Queens 2-1 at Kigali Pele Stadium on Monday.

Faith Mboya and Martha Amunyolete scored in the 17th and 80th minutes, respectively, to hand Police a crucial win, while new signing Senaf Wakuma scored a consolation goal for the Tanzanian heavyweights.

The victory gave Bullets a perfect start to their campaign as they seek to go a step further this year after narrowly missing out on qualification for the CAF Women’s Champions League last season.

Speaking after the match, Vijago, who took over as Police head coach from Harambee Starlets coach Beldin Odemba in October 2025, expressed optimism ahead of their second preliminary match against Burundi’s Top Girls Academy, scheduled for Wednesday, August 25.

“Simba are the former CECAFA champions, and we came into the match as underdogs, but we fought for the win.

“I thank the players, the technical bench and everyone behind our success.

“Ahead of the next match, we pray for God to guide us and give us the strength to win it and the tournament at large so that we can qualify for the Champions League,” said Vijago.

Vijago’s sentiments were echoed by striker Terry Engesha Obunyu.

“The feeling is awesome. We had prepared well for the match against Simba, and that is why we picked up the win.

“You should expect more goals from us because our focus is to win the tournament and qualify for the CAF Women’s Champions League.

“We overpowered Simba in the midfield, which worked well for us after identifying their weakness.

“We are warning our next opponents, Top Girls Academy of Burundi, to expect tough competition from us,” said Obunyu.

The Kenyan side was drawn in Group C alongside Simba Queens and Burundi’s Top Girls Academy, with the group winners advancing to the semi-finals.

The Kenyan champions are aiming to go a step further this year after narrowly missing out on qualification for the CAF Women’s Champions League in the previous campaign.

The CAF Women’s Champions League qualifiers will determine the teams that progress from the six regional qualifying tournaments to the continental competition.