Telkom hotline rescues Kenya's stature in 2018

International competitions are key to improving a country’s sporting standards.

But for Kenyan hockey players, they never got such opportunities and the trend has been perfected over years. Year in year out, Kenya has depended on International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Africa Hockey Federation (AFHF) organised events to expose players to high standard competition. 

Without FIH and AFHF events for the national teams on the calendar this year, Kenyan players did not play a single international match. Save for Africa champions Telkom and United States International University of Africa (USIU-A) who featured at the just concluded Africa Cup of Club Championships (ACCC) in Abuja, Nigeria. Other teams had to contend with playing in the local league.  

Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) once again failed players by not securing international friendly matches which would have helped them gauge their strength ahead of next year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers. 

Breathing fire

Away from the national teams, there was no better way to end 2018 than seeing continental women’s club hockey titleholders Telkom reclaim their title. The Kenyan girls snatched the trophy after beating Ghanaian giants Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) 2-0 in finals at Abuja National Stadium, Nigeria, last week. 

Despite going down 1-0 to arch-rivals GRA in their last preliminary match, Telkom were breathing fire in the final with veteran Jackline Mwangi and Audrey Omaido netting the winning goals. Telkom had lost their title in Accra, Ghana, early in the year and were not ready to let the Ghanaians secure a second bite at the cherry.

It was Telkom’s tenth continental title. Locally, they have won the title 21 times. USIU-A, who were making their first appearance, finished fourth after going down 2-0 to  Ghana Police side in third play-offs. 

KHU had a relatively impressive scorecard after running a well organised league this year. For the first time in many years, the league was consistent ending in good time. Butali Sugar Warriors reclaimed the men’s Premier League title in a dramatic fashion after beating rivals Kenya Police 2-1 in their last league match to win on a superior goal difference. While Police needed a draw to retain their crown, Frank Wanangwe disappointed with three minutes to the final whistle. 

Super League champions

Kenya College of Accountancy and Nakuru Hockey Club were demoted to the newly established men’s Super League while Chase Sailors returned to the top tier after being crowned men’s Super League champions. In the women’s Premier League, Strathmore University Scorpions finished second behind Telkom to secure their place in next year’s ACCC. Vikings were demoted to the Super League after finishing at the bottom with a winless run. 

Kenyatta University Titans won the women’s Super League trophy with newcomers Lakers finishing second. Bungoma Farmers made one place up the ladder after winning the men’s national league.