Cheche Named Betika/SJAK Coach Of The Month For March, 2025
Junior Starlets Coach Mildred Cheche awarded by Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) as Coach of the Month for March at Kasarani Stadium on April 15, 2025. PHOTO/ SJAK
NAIROBI, Kenya- The Kenya National Women’s U-17 side, Junior Starlets, head coach Mildred Cheche has been named the Betika/SJAK Coach-of-the-Month for March 2025.
The CAF-A licensed tactician fend-off stiff competition from Kabras Sugar Coach Carlos Katya and Kenya Police FC Burundian tactician Etienne Ndayiragire who had also been nominated for the award. Katya finished second with Ndayiragire coming third.
Cheche guided Junior Starlets to a 5-0 aggregate win over neighbors Uganda in the first round of the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifier. In the first leg, she led the team to secure a 2-0 win in Kampala followed by a 3-0 triumph in Nairobi.
With the win, Junior Starlets have since booked a date with Cameroon in the second and final round of the qualifiers as Cheche hopes to guide the team to the FIFA U17 World Cup for the second time running.
Cheche guided the Junior Starlets for their maiden Worlds in Dominican Republic, the first time a Kenyan team, male or female, across all categories graced the finals of the global showpiece.
“I would like to dedicate this award to Junior Starlets players and members of the technical bench, because without them, I could not have achieved this feat. This award is a big motivation for us especially as we prepare to play against Cameroon in a home and away World Cup qualifier starting this Sunday and I would like to thank SJAK and Betika in a special way for this initiative,” Cheche said.
Junior Starlets Coach Mildred Cheche (middle) awarded by Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) as Coach of the Month for March at Kasarani Stadium on April 15, 2025. PHOTO/ SJAK
On his part, Katya had an impressive run with Kabras Sugar in March, guiding his team to the Kenya Cup final. They beat Menengai Oilers 20-14, then went ahead to beat KCB 25-17, and picked an easy 45-6 against Nondescripts in the semis to extend their unbeaten run in the competition to 40 matches.
Burundia Coach Ndayiragire saw Kenya Police finish the month unbeaten in the FKF Premier League as they picked a goalless draw against AFC Leopards, a 3-1 win over Murang’a Seal, and a 1-0 win over Posta Rangers to maintain the spot at the summit of the standings.
Betika Head of Marketing Japheth Akhulia said: “Congratulations to Coach Cheche for being named the best coach in March. We are excited to collaborate with SJAK and reward the efforts of these coaches who sacrifice a lot of their time to ensure that they give the best knowledge and guidance to their teams. We hope this award will not only whip-up the enthusiasm of tacticians countrywide, but also raise the bar for Kenyan sports teams, by and large.”
SJAK President James Waindi said: “We are happy to be rewarding the most outstanding coach for the month once again, thanks to our partners Betika who have made it possible. They demonstrated their support for sports in the country, both on and off the pitch and together we share an ambition of creating opportunities at all levels and ensuring everyone is welcome to enjoy the game. Congratulations to Coach Cheche for winning in March.”
Last month, Betika and SJAK signed a one-year partnership deal worth KES 6 million to support the Coach of The Month award.
