The tournament, scheduled to run from April 27th to May 18th, 2025, will feature 13 nations battling for continental supremacy and four qualification spots to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile 2025.
Last Sunday, Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducted the final draw for the tournament which was earlier scheduled to be held in Ivory Coast, before the West African withdrew. Kenya, who will be participating in the stage for the first time, were drawn in Group B alongside record seven-time champions Nigeria, former winners Tunisia and Morocco.
Hosts Egypt, who are the three-time champions, headlined Group A, where they were pitted against Zambia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Tanzania while defending champions Senegal were drawn in Group C alongside the Central African Republic, DR Congo, and Ghana - with the latter aiming to reclaim the title they won in 2009, the same year they became the only African team to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Before the changes to the draw, Kenya’s Rising Stars had been drawn in Group C, with defending champions Senegal, Zambia, and Sierra Leone. They were scheduled to start off the tournament against Sierra Leone on May 1st, 2025, followed by Zambia on May 4th before rounding off the group stage with Senegal on May 7th.
The Rising Stars booked their ticket to the continental showpiece after a strong showing at the 2024 CECAFA U20 Qualifiers, where they finished second, narrowly losing the final to Tanzania.
During the qualifiers, Kenya remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, boasting an impressive record of four wins and one draw, with 14 goals scored and only one conceded. The qualification was a major milestone for the country’s youth football development, giving the Rising Stars the opportunity to compete on a continental stage and showcase their talent against Africa’s best.
Rising Stars ready to fight for the Kenyan flag
In an interview with Flashscore, Ochieng, who plays for Sofapaka in the Kenyan Premier League, explained their confidence was sky high heading into the tournament in the North African nation adding that they will give a good account of themselves at first attempt.
“We have been training for the past two weeks, and everything has been going on well as planned, our intensity has been building and the confidence has been building, despite the change of the draw, we don’t have any fear, we are ready and prepared to face anyone in the tournament,” Ochieng, who plays for Sofapaka in the Kenyan Premier League told Flashscore.
“In fact, facing Morocco is nothing to fear about because before the draw changed, if we did well from the group stages, it means we could have come up against them, maybe even at the quarter-finals or even at the semis stage, we were definitely going to play Morocco and the rest of the so-called giants, so we don’t have to fear facing them at the group stage.”
Ochieng added: “So, we are prepared for the task ahead and we are good to go, as players we don’t have to blame the weather if results don’t go our way, most of the players, who stay in Nairobi, sometimes we go to Mombasa to play matches, and we end up winning, so we must adapt, we will definitely adapt with the weather.”
On Tuesday, April 15th, President William Ruto flagged off the team for the tournament but they will first head to Morocco for a 10-day camp before proceeding to Egypt. According to Ochieng, the decision to camp in Morocco will help the team to acclimatise before the tournament gets underway.
“We are going for a pre-camp stay in Morocco before proceeding to Egypt, it is the same weather that we will experience in Morocco that we will get in Egypt, so as a player, it doesn’t take you long time to adapt to a new environment, we only need two, to three days, and we will switch on to the current weather,” explained Ochieng.
On facing Morocco, Ochieng said: “Nowadays we don’t have football for Arabs and blacks, we will approach the game according to the tactics, the same tactics we are were to use maybe against Senegal, will be different from how we will play against Morocco, of course, it is up to the coach, he will bring new tactics, and for us we will do what he wants us to do, so definitely we will do our best.”
Ochieng however, admitted that the change made to the groups, somehow affected their earlier plans for the tournament but they will stay focused.
“Of course yes, we got confused when we were told that our group was changing and suddenly we saw a different set up of opponents, but it has encouraged my fellow players because meeting tougher opponents makes you become more challenging, so we are up to the task and we are easy, because we know we have a good team and we are going to fight.”
He concluded: “It's not about individuals, it's about the country. I will strive to help the team, and if we win, we win as Kenyans and not as an individual, it is about the country and we look psyched, and ready to take on the new challenge and make Kenyans proud.”
Speaking before the team’s departure, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Hussein Mohammed told Flashscore: “We have prepared enough for the couple of weeks we have been together, the team is led by MacDonald Mariga, and they have done a wonderful job in putting this team together and getting ready for the tournament.”
Kenya will face Morocco in their opener on May 1st, before taking on Tunisia on May 4th and wind up their preliminary fixtures against Nigeria on May 7th.
The tournament will follow a three-group format. Group A contains five teams, while Groups B and C feature four teams each. The top two teams from each pool, along with the two best third-placed teams, will progress to the quarter-finals, with the tournament concluding on May 18th, 2025.
Beyond the continental crown, the stakes are high as the four semi-finalists will earn tickets to represent Africa at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Chile 2025, continuing the continent’s proud legacy at the global level.
