Fourteen-year-old Fridah Paloma has taken another step in her rapid rise through Kenyan women’s football after making her Kenya Women’s Premier League debut for Kayole Starlets.
Coach George Kimani handed Paloma a chance in the starting XI as Kayole drew 2-2 with Shabana Starlets in the season opener. She also featured in their second match against Trinity, where they won 1-0. This marked a significant milestone for a player who recently graduated from the club’s academy setup.
Kimani has closely tracked the Kenya U-15 international, who says the youthful Kayole squad is being carefully managed as the players adjust to the demands of top-flight football. “We have young players, and we want to manage their speed and work rate. We expect more in the next match,” Kimani said.
The coach also believes Paloma has the qualities to develop into an important player for the club, while stressing the need to give her time to grow.
Kimani said the youngster has shown potential and skill and remains a player to watch as she continues to gather experience. Paloma’s debut adds another chapter to a progression that began with an outstanding spell for Kayole Starlets Academy.
At 13, she scored 15 goals in 16 matches during the 2024/25 FKF Nairobi East Women’s Regional League season and was named the competition’s Most Promising Player.
She subsequently earned promotion to the first-team training group despite initially being too young to play in the Premier League. Her performances also earned her opportunities at national and international youth level.
Paloma was named in Kenya’s U15 squad for the CAF African Schools Football Championship CECAFA qualifiers and featured for Zebstrong Kenya at the Street Child World Cup in Mexico, where the Kenyan side finished runners-up.
She contributed two goals and two assists as Kenya finished second in the Mexican show.
The youngster’s development has, therefore, moved quickly from academy football to international youth competition and now the senior Premier League.
Kayole returned to the top flight last season and finished sixth. Paloma’s emergence provides another youthful option as the club seeks to build on its first campaign back among Kenya’s elite. The teenager, however, saw the 2-2 draw with Shabana as the beginning, rather than the culmination, of her senior journey.
