The week-long event slated for February 13-19 will be played at the City Park Stadium and the Dashmesh Hockey Stadium along Forest Road
• 12 men’s teams have been placed in pools A and B while the same number of pools will accommodate the 10 teams in the women category.
• The Kenyan pair of Butali Warriors and Kenya Police headline Group B.
From Left: Nashon Randiek, Patrick Mugambi, Jeriah Onsare, Meshack Senge and Tracy Karanja after press briefing at Simba Sports Club.
Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) chairman Nashon Randiek says they are on course for the annual African Cup for Club Championship in Nairobi despite a few challenges.
The week-long event slated for February 13-19 will be played at the City Park Stadium and the Dashmesh Hockey Stadium along Forest Road, according to the fixtures released yesterday. Kenya was picked to host the event after Malawi and South Africa pulled out due to personal reasons.
“We accepted to host the event on short notice after a request from Africa Hockey. However, we haven’t approached the government for support since it wasn’t projected in our budget,” said Randiek.
Twelve men’s teams have been placed in pools A’ and ‘B’ while the same number of pools will accommodate the 10 teams in the women’s category.
Sharkia, Zamalek (Egypt); Ghana’s Exchequers and GRA and the Nigerian duo of Kada Stars and Police Machine, are in the men’s Group A.
The Kenyan pair of Butali Warriors and Kenya Police headline Group B. They are joined by Weatherhead and Wananchi both from Uganda, Tanzania’s Moshi Khalsa, and Hippo from Zimbabwe. Police will be seeking to go one step better after finishing second in 2016 when the competition was last held in Kenya.
Captain Victor Wekesa observed: “We are going for nothing short of winning the title. The players are psyched up. We’ve put a turbulent season behind us after injuries affected our performance. Only Govan Mbeli is a major doubt because of the thigh injury otherwise we have a fully fit squad.”
In the women’s category, Army Ladies and GRA highlight Pool ‘A’ alongside Delta Queens, Kada Queens and Sharkia.
The trio of Strathmore Scorpions, Lakers, and Blazers will carry the Kenyan flag in Pool B. Uganda’s Deliverance Church and Wananchi complete the group of death.
Fresh from winning the national women’s league title last month, expectations are high for Scorpions if captain Jeriah Onsare is to be believed. “All eyes will be on us after the title triumph but I am hopeful we won’t disappoint. This is my first major assignment with Scorpions and I can’t wait to get started.”
Wazalendo were the only team to grace the occasion last year.
Source: the-star.co.ke | February 10, 2023
