Tight race for SOYA Team of the Year as Starlets lead

Kenya Harambee Starlets coach David Ouma instruct his players against Ethiopia's Lucy during their Cecafa senior women Championship semi finals in Jinja on Sunday 18/09/16.PHOTO.BONIFACE OKENDO

The race for the Best Team Award ahead of the forthcoming 13th edition of Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Award (Soya) is tight owing to the splendid performance by several federations last year.

Leading the pack in this category is Harambee Starlets who made their maiden appearance at the African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) tournament in Cameroon last year.

Apart from qualifying for AWCON, Starlets had also reached the final of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) in Uganda in September where they lost 1-2 to Tanzania.

But Starlets will not have it easy as there are other equally good teams tipped to be crowned the best when the gala is held on Thursday night at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi.

One of their fiercest competitors is  the Telkom Orange women's hockey team who bagged a record 19th Women Premier League title last season.

The continental hockey queens have been unbeatable in the national league over the years and they will also be hoping to be declared the best.

Other worthy teams in contention in the same category are the women's national Roll Ball, currently ranked top in the world after clinching the world cup in India last year and the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) basketball team who are the current regional champions.

Nairobi Water handball team who have also been a force to reckon with in the national league are also fighting for the top prize together with the national Under-23 women's volleyball team.

KPA won the FIBA Africa Zone V Clubs Basketball Championships in Tanzania last season after missing out in action in 2015.

They are also currently unbeaten in the league and are in the play-offs to determine the team that will play in the final match to determine the league champions.

On the other hand, the Roll ball team won the Third Roll Ball World Cup titke after beating hosts India 2-1 in the decider in their debut.

Meanwhile, Nairobi Water won the national handball league with an unbeaten record and also finished fifth at the Africa Clubs Championships in Burkina Faso.

They also won the East and Central Africa Handball Championships after winning all their matches in the competition played at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi in December.

The National Under-23 volleyball team, also known as the Malkia Strikers juniors finished second overall in the African Under-23 championships which was used to pick teams for the 2017 World Championships in Slovenia.

By virtue of finishing second to Egypt, the Kenyans still booked a slot to represent Africa in Slovenia together with the North Africans.