Kenya Lionesses have set sights on rebuilding after missing out on promotion to the World championship

Kenya Lionesses Marvin Oswago goes past the Spanish defence during the HSBC Division Two series leg in Sao Paulo recently/HANDOUT

 Kenya Lionesses have turned their focus to rebuilding after missing out on promotion to the World Championship pathway during the HSBC Sevens Challenger Series Division Two leg in São Paulo.

Simon Odongo’s charges finished fifth overall after an improved showing in Brazil, but their campaign was ultimately undermined by earlier struggles in the Nairobi and Montevideo legs.

Speaking upon return, head coach Simon Odongo admitted it is back to the drawing board for the national side after falling short of a top-four finish.

“The girls put up a good showing in the final leg, but we came up short. They will take a break for the next couple of months before we reconvene for the Safari Sevens and Africa Cup, which we will be hosting in November,” noted Odongo.

Attention now shifts to the continental assignment, where the Lionesses must win the 12-team Africa Cup to secure qualification to the next stage of the global pathway.

Victory would earn them a place in the HSBC Sevens Challenger Series Division Three, likely to be staged in Dubai in January 2027. From there, Kenya would need a top-two finish to gain promotion to Division Two, before targeting a top-four overall finish across three legs to qualify for the World Championship tier, where they would face core teams for a place in the 2027–2028 season.

Odongo identified decision-making and defence as key areas that need improvement. “We have made tentative progress, but overall we can do better in our decision-making and defence for us to be consistent with the top teams from now on,” he said.

The coach also highlighted the impact of new players Marvel Oswago and Charity Nilah, who impressed during the campaign. “We brought two new faces who have really impressed, and they can only get better with more tournaments under their belt,” said Odongo.

In São Paulo, the Lionesses opened with a 19-12 loss to Argentina before bouncing back to beat South Africa 14-5 and edge Spain 24-17. They then thrashed China 46-0 but fell 24-12 to hosts Brazil in the decider. Kenya finished fifth overall with 40 points. Argentina topped the standings with 55 points, followed by Spain (50), South Africa (46) and Brazil (42).