KWPL: Vihiga Queens turn attention to CECAFA after title triumph

With the dust yet to settle on their 2022–23 Kenya Women's Premier League title triumph, Vihiga Queen's tactician Boniface Nyamunyamu has switched his focus to bolstering his squad ahead of the annual Cecafa Women's Champions League slated for Kampala, Uganda, in July.

Vihiga Queens were declared champions-elect for a record fourth time following a 2-1 victory against Nakuru City Queens at the ASK Agricultural Showground in Nakuru on Sunday with a match to spare.

The Vihiga County is seeded first on 52 points, four ahead of runners-up Gaspo, who extinguished their title hopes with back-to-back draws against Ulinzi Starlets and Wadadia.

While assessing their journey this season, Nyamunyamuh hailed his charges for their resilience through a challenging season and urged them to swiftly focus on the CECAFA Women's Champions League, which also doubles up as the qualifier for the third edition of CAF Womens Champions League slated for Côte d'Ivoire later this year.

"As a coach, I'm pleased about the win, and I believe every Vihiga stakeholder feels the same. We set out to do it at the beginning of the season, and I am over the moon now that we have finally achieved it.

"Focus now turns to the Cecafa title in Kampala, whereby we must clinch the header to book our journey to Morocco for the continental showpiece.

"We need a solid side to conquer Cecafa, considering the tough teams like New Tanzania Women League champions JKT Queens and their Uganda counterparts Kampala Queens.

"That's why we have embarked on signing great players to take us through. We have started identifying them across Africa and I'm sure very soon we will beef up our squad by signing them."

In the domestic league, Nyamuhnyamuh is keen to round up their season with a win against bitter rivals Gaspo in their last match on Saturday.

"We play Gaspo in our last match on Saturday and intend to finish our season on 55 points.

"We understand Gaso will be a bit frustrated because they thought they would win the title, but also they will want to prove to us that they were worthy competitors in the league.

"Thus I'm urging my charges to fight hard for the maximum points at Gems Cambridge International School."

Third-placed Ulinzi Starlets will be aiming to retain their position when they take on Kyaole Starlets on Saturday at Camp Toyoyo, while fourth and fifth-placed Wadadia (34) Women and Nakuru City Queens (32) will be taking on Kagemi Ladies and Bunyore Starlets respectively.

Zetech Sparks, who ducked relegation by a whisker thanks to a 3-1 against Kisumu, All Starlets at Ruaraka grounds in Nairobi last weekend, will battle former champions Thika Queens as Kisumu All Starlets wrap up the fixtures against Trans Nzoia Falcons at Moi Stadium in Kisumu.