Kenya men's handball coach earns highest coaching badge, beating crucial deadline
Reading Time: 3min | Sat. 03.05.25. | 14:37
“It has taken a lot of experience, working with top teams, and coaches who have sharpened me."
A recent directive by Africa's handball governing body, CAHB, on qualification for national teams’ coaching staff, could not have come at a better time for the sport in Kenya, as coach Peter Mwathi is the newest license A holder in town.
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Mwathi, a national team head coach who has handled both the women’s and men’s teams, currently handling the latter, received his IHF (International handball governing body) A license, the topmost qualification for handball coaching globally, on Saturday, 19 April, becoming just the third coach to attain this in sub-Saharan Africa.
“It has been a long journey, and I am elated,” said the Equity HC tactician, whose coaching career spans over three decades.
In a communiqué to all national federations, members of the CAHB, all national teams participating in the senior Africa Nations Cup, and the Africa Games, as well as senior club championships, must be handled by a license A holder.
The U19 and U21 teams will require license B holders, while license C qualification will be good for the U16 and U17 sides.
A former novice boxer, Mwathi switched from netball to handball coaching in 1990, while working at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), creating a women’s side that went on to rule Kenyan handball and is still a force 35 years later.
He founded the men's team in 1992, and their dominance continues.
He ditched the millers for the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), then known as Kenya Polytechnic, and later moved to Strathmore University, leaving a trail of good players and transformative handball skills in his wake.
In the last two seasons, he has coached a new outfit, Equity HC, and hopes to guide them to a maiden title. He is also involved with the deaf teams playing in the local league.
After attaining his license C in Kenya, Mwathi sought to upgrade his qualifications, and in 2015, he joined the coveted Hungarian University of Sports Science (HUSS), formerly known as the Hungarian University of Physical Education, for a diploma.
“The Diploma allowed me to coach anywhere in the world, but IHF certification was still necessary,” Mwathi, who coached the national women’s team from 2004 to 2015, explained.
Last year, he, alongside NCPB men’s head coach Brian Mathews, attained their B licenses in Algeria.
“Two months after this, I was nominated for license A classes in Cairo. This culminated with a detailed analysis and presentation of the Kenya women’s team's defensive performance at the 2024 African Women's Handball Championship held from 27 November to 7 December 2024 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This was a challenging task as I was not part of the technical team in Kinshasa, and there was little material to analyse the players from. I am, however, grateful to have achieved a feat that is timely for Kenyan handball,” Mwathi added.
“It has taken a lot of experience, working with top teams, and coaches who have sharpened me. With this, the target is to take Kenyan handball to the top of the continent and beyond,” Mwathi, who has led the women's and men’s teams to seventh and fifth, respectively, in Africa, concluded.
