- The Gambia Women’s National Team has announced its final squad for the decisive clash against Kenya’s Harambee Starlets in the final round of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers.
- The first leg will take place on October 24, 2025, in Nairobi, while the return fixture is set for October 28, 2025, at the Stade Lat Dior in Senegal.
The Gambia Women’s National Team Head Coach Mariama “Bom” Sowe has named her 23-player squad for the final round of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers against Kenya’s Harambee Starlets.
Coach Sowe finalized the squad over the weekend as the team concluded its technical preparations for the double fixture.
The first leg is scheduled for October 24, 2025, in Nairobi, with the return leg set for October 28, 2025, at the Stade Lat Dior in Senegal.
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The squad is primarily composed of locally based players who have been in intermittent training since early August.
Due to financial constraints, only four foreign-based professionals will feature; Manyima Stevelmans ( Riga FC, Latvia), Ola Buwaro (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia), Penda Bah (Viimsi JK, Estonia) and Fatoumata Kanteh (Sevilla FC, Spain).
The biggest threat to the Harambee Starlets is expected to be Fatoumata Kanteh. The Spain based lethal forward notably scored in both legs of the previous qualifying round against Niger.
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Gambia advanced to this final round after defeating Niger 4-1 on aggregate in the first round fixtures.
In the First leg, Fatou Sonko and Fatou Kanteh gave the Gambia a 2-0 win and a 2-1 win away thanks to goals from Mbassey Darboe and Fatou Kanteh.
The Queen Scorpion Coach Mariama Sowe was appointed as the interim head coach of the Women’s Senior National Team for the 2026 WAFCON qualifiers in January 2025 by the Gambia Football Federation.
Sowe is one of the few Gambian coaches to hold a CAF B license certificate and has attended numerous coaching courses both locally and internationally.
Her prior success includes guiding Gambia to its first-ever bronze title at the WAFU-A Senior Women’s tournament, which was played in Sal, Cape Verde, in 2023.
Gambia full list of selected players to face Harambee Starlets
Mary Nf Gomez, Aminata Gaye, Diminga Mendy, Wuday Colley, Bintou Cessay, Kaddy Sanyang, Manyima Stevelmans, Juana Colley, Fatou Fatty, Jarra Jambang, Metta Sanneh, Mariama Cham, Kaddy Jatta, Kaddijatou Bayo, Kaddijatou Jallow, Fatoumata Jammeh, Mam Drammeh, Penda Bah, Isatou Jallow, Fatoumata I Kanteh Cham, Sarah Jarju, Fatou Sonko, and Ola Buwaro.