Tanzanian coach laments over pitch condition after losing to Kenya’s Rising Starlets
Tanzania Under-20 Women’s coach Bakari Shime has accused Kenya of deliberately choosing to host their FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on a poor pitch to disadvantage her team.
The Tanzanite Queens slumped to a solitary goal against the Rising Starlets on Saturday, February 7, 2026, with the coach decrying the rationale of hosting the high-profile clash at the Ulinzi Complex stadium.
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According to the tactician, the uneven surface denied her girls the opportunity to play their preferred way and at their levels.
Poor playing surface
“Kenya has better pitches, but they chose to bring us here. In my view, we didn’t lose the match fairly. They knew exactly what they were doing. This pitch is very poor. My team did not play to their levels because of the condition of the pitch,” he stated.
Shuma has further warned Kenyans not to be carried away with the slim advantage, cautioning that the tie remains far from done as Kenya next heads to Chamazi Complex on Saturday, February 14, 2026.
Far from done
“This tie is not done. We targeted to draw or lose with a slim margin. We are going to Chamazi. A goal loss is a small margin for my team. We are going to overturn this clash and claim a positive result,” he added.
Shime’s assertions follow despite the team having prior knowledge of the surface, having held sessions on the pitch before the clash, as a standard practice undertaken in football games.
Elizabeth Mideva scored late on to break the deadlocked encounter and hand Kenya a slim advantage heading to the decisive return leg in Dar es Salaam.
Mideva’s goal came after Kenya laboured to unlock the visitors’ watertight rearguard to no avail.
Jackline Juma charges will hope to avoid defeat in the return tie, which has all the hallmarks of a hotly contested duel, going by the visitor’s display on enemy territory.
The aggregate winner from the clash will proceed to the fourth and final round of the qualifiers, with a place in the championship in Poland getting ever closer.
