Kenyan softball team set for World games

Soft Ball team

The Kenya national women softball team will take part in the 2016 women’s softball World Championships in Surrey, Canada, from July 15-24.

This will be the 15th edition of the championships and the event will showcase a record total of 124 international matches. Kenya will clash with European champions Italy, Oceania’s New Zealand and South American representative, Peru in Pool H.

The Kenyan team will be making its debut at the games, alongside Uganda, the other African representative in the women’s category. Other women teams Brazil, Ecuador, India, Ireland, Pakistan, Serbia, Switzerland, and Peru.

Team Manager Francis Karugu is confident the team will perform well and gain some recognition in the country.

“Softball is not a popular sport in the country compared to football, but as the federation, we will now introduce the game to primary and secondary school as a way of developing it.

“That notwithstanding, we have been working very hard for the last six years to assemble this team and I am proud to say the ladies are well prepared for the tournament. Currently, we have two leagues in the country; the Metropolitan league and the national league for both men and women,” he said.

He also reiterated that the team desires to perform well during the competition and they are targeting at least two victories in the group matches.

“We are going to the championships with the aim of qualifying for the second round. We also want to get as much exposure as possible. Granted, this is our first international contest, but that doesn’t mean we will not do our best,” he added.

The Kenyans will play their first match on July 16 against European Champions Italy then face newcomers Peru the following day.