Emily Morang’a knew from the age of 14 that football was going to take her places.
She had started out at eight playing football with boys in Kisii, where she comes from, as no other girl seemed interested in the game.
When she decided to concentrate on football, she put her heart and soul into it, making a big impression at the 2019 East Africa school games in Arusha, Tanzania.
She was spotted by coaches from Nyakach Girls’ High School and was given a full scholarship.
The school boasts a footballing pedigree and is quick to snap up and develop talented girls like Emily. Their team is named Plateau Queens and has become a force to reckon with in Western Kenya.
The school has produced numerous players who have gone on to grace the country’s top-flight league as well as the national women’s team, Harambee Starlets. The side has also won two of the three national finals of Safaricom Chapa Dimba.
With the wealth of talent ahead of her, Emily had to bide her time, but she eventually rose to the senior team. Covid-19 interrupted the third edition of Safaricom Chapa Dimba and the pandemic-enforced hiatus of the tournament meant Emily and her teammates were eager to shine in the fourth edition.
“We had tasted disappointment in the national school games several times. So Safaricom Chapa Dimba was our path to redemption. We played well in the Nyanza regional finals held at the Moi Stadium Kisumu to qualify for the national finals,” said Emily.
As she scored the goals during the Safaricom Chapa Dimba tournament, another set of eyes were on Emily and soon after she went back to Nyakach Girls’, Vihiga Queens, which plays in the Football Kenya Federation’s Women Premier League, came looking for her.
“They said they had been impressed and signed me up. It is not an easy feat to join an FKF-WPL team. It is a privilege,” said Emily.
Upon completion of her secondary school education in 2023, Emily started 2024 by banging in the goals in the FKF-WPL. She scored four goals in her debut match as Vihiga Queens thrashed Wadadia FC 6-0.
Despite her impressive start, she was still pinching herself and wondering if she belonged in the Premier League. But having trained and gelled with her Vihiga Queens teammates over the last four months, she says she has now gained confidence and she is turning on the style on the pitch.
Emily hopes to follow in the footsteps of her role model, Jentrix Shikangwa. Jentrix shone in Chapa Dimba, joined Vihiga Queens, got called up to Harambee Stars, and now plays professionally for Tanzania’s Simba Queens following stints in China and Turkey.
“I want to be a great professional footballer in Kenya, Africa and beyond. I am really looking forward to getting my first national team call-up. I am patient, I know it will happen and I will be so happy to play for Harambee Starlets,” she said.
When she is not weaving past defenders and making the net bulge, the teenager loves socialising, enjoys a dish of chapati and chicken and listens to gospel and bongo.
She is also keen on pay equality in football: “The people mandated with running Kenyan football, FKF, should realise that Kenyan women also know how to play football. The opportunities should be equal for men and women. You find that Kenyan women footballers are not financially compensated. There should be fairness.”
