Kenya 7s, Tusker lead nominees for Soya awards

Kenya's Shujaa Leonard Mugaisi evades a challenge from Rwanda's player during their 2016 Safari Sevens match at Kasarani Stadium on Sept. 24, 2016.[PHOTO:DENNIS OKEYO/STANDARD]

After a splendid 2016, the national rugby sevens team has been nominated for the men team of the year in the Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards (Soya).

The team won the Singapore Leg in the International Rugby Board (IRB) series, now the World Series. The win in Singapore was a first for Kenya as they had never won a leg since participating in the world event.

The Sevens team stunned Fiji 30-7 to win the historic cup in the final. It was also a year that saw them make the semi-finals in the Cape Town leg, quarter-finals in Hong Kong and also the last eight in the Sydney leg.

Despite what looks like a very impressive cv for the team that was led then by coach Benjamin Ayimba, they will face stiff competition from other teams who did extremely well in 2016.

Tusker, who wrestled the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title from Gor Mahia, have also been named in the same category. Tusker and Shujaa will be seeking bragging rights when the Soya gala is held on January 19.

Apart from bagging the KPL crown, Tusker also won the Gotv Shield, something they last did in 1993. This was also the first time that a team had won a double, with the last team having done that in 1978.

The brewers beat Ulinzi Stars in the final to win the GOtv Shield.

Another football team that will be hoping to bag the Soya top gong is Nzoia Sugar.