Kenya’s women national football team Harambee Starlets are among the nominated teams for the 2025 Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA).
The winners will be fetted during the 2025 SOYA Awards Gala set for April 10, this year at Uhuru Gardens.
Starlets had a landmark year in 2025, defined by a return to the continental stage and a strong showing in regional competitions. The team’s defining achievement of the year was securing their spot in the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), marking their return to the continental tournament for the first time in 10 years, since their debut in 2016.
Under the tutelage of Coach Beldine Odemba, Starlets defeated The Gambia with a aggregate score of 4-1, winningt 3-1 at home and 1-0 away. By qualifying for WAFCON, Stalets have kept their hopes alive for a first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in 2027, as the WAFCON semi-finalists earn direct tickets to the global showpiece.
Odemba’s charges were also dominant throughout the 2025 CECAFA tournament held in June in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where they finished as runners-up, securing the silver medal after a narrow 1-0 loss to the hosts, Tanzania, in the final. Before the final, Kenya recorded emphatic victories, including a 4-0 win over Uganda and a 4-0 win over South Sudan, showcasing a high-scoring offense led by players like Violet Nanjala and Fasila Adhiambo.
Other nominees in the women category were the Under 20 women national volleyball team also known as Junior Malkia Stars and Rugby Lionesses. The Junior Malkia Stars shocked the hosts Cameroon in the final to win the 2025 CAVB Women’s Under 20 African Nations Championship. They beat Cameroon 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 26-28, 25-15) to win their maiden title, completing a sweet revenge as Cameroon had initially beaten them by the same score line in the preliminary stage. The win in Cameroon secured Kenya a slot at the FIVB Women’s Under 21 World Championship in 2026.
The Kenya Lionesses on the other hand won the 2025 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series to qualify for promotion and relegation play-off where they also won.
Victory should have seen Kenya Lionesses qualify for the World Rugby Women’s Sevens series for the first time but World Rugby changed the format.
The Lionesses defeated South Africa 19-15 in the semi-finals during the first leg of the 2025 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Cape Town. The Lionesses went on to win the final beating Argentina 17-12.
The Lionesses and Lady Blitzboks met in the final of the second leg of the 2025 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Cape Town where the Kenyans prevailed in the final 17-0.
Come the decisive promotion and relegation play-off in Los Angeles, the Lionesses and Lady Blitzboks met in the quarter-finals again and the Kenyans triumphed 17-14.
KPA women’s basketball team and the national women hockey teams complete the list of the five nominees for the women teams of the year.
In the men’s category, two teams enter the nominations with an aura of invincibility. Kabras Sugar RFC continued their stranglehold on Kenyan rugby, securing their fourth successive Kenya Cup and fifth consecutive Enterprise Cup. Their 41-match winning streak is a feat of modern sporting endurance.
Not to be outdone, Nairobi City Thunder electrified the courts. They defended their Kenya Basketball League title with a perfect 21-0 record and dominated the BAL Elite 16 unbeaten. While their BAL debut saw them exit in the pool stage, their domestic and regional dominance remains unmatched.
Another nominee, Nairobi United (The Naibois) pulled off the “Double” of a lifetime. Not only did they win the National Super League to earn top-flight promotion, but they also stunned the nation by lifting the FKF Cup against Gor Mahia. Their fairytale continued onto the continental stage, where they reached the CAF Confederation Cup Group Stages in their debut season.
Meanwhile, the Junior Wafalme Stars (U-20 Volleyball) proved that Kenyan men can thrive on the net. By winning bronze in Cairo, they secured the first-ever podium finish for a Kenyan men’s junior team at the African Championships.
The national football team, Harambee Stars, earned their nod through a clinical group stage performance in the CHAN tournament held in Nairobi. Topping a “Group of Death” that included heavyweights Morocco and DRC, they showed a defensive grit that hasn’t been seen in years, eventually falling only on the heartbreak of penalties in the quarter-finals.
