Kenyan clubs looking to shine at home as ECAHF championship begins

East and Central Africa Handball Federation (ECAHF) club championship got underway on Sunday 3 December at Nyayo with 10 men’s and 6 women’s teams taking part.

Two matches were played on the opening day with defending champions Nairobi Water Queens and National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) men getting their respective title campaigns off to a winning start.

Water opened their campaign with a clash against bitter rivals Ulinzi Sharks, the Kenya Defence Force’s (KDF) side giving up a four-goal advantage at halftime to lose by a similar margin in a 25-21 outcome.

Michelle Adhiambo and skipper Gladys Chilo led the scores with 8 and 6 goals respectively.

Action for the men’s competition saw NCPB beat Rwanda’s Gichumbi 35-29 in a match where Winston Chekai led the scoring for Brian Mathews’ men with 8 goals. Timothy Kirimi and Clinton Maiko managed six goals a piece in the win.

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The draw, conducted on the morning of the opening day, pitted the Kenyan champions who double up as the ECAHF record title holders Nairobi Water against Ulinzi Sharks and Nkajja of Uganda in the women’s pool A. Pool B has NCPB women, JKT of Tanzania and South Sudan.

On the men’s side, pool A is headlined by holders NCPB and also has KDF’s Ulinzi HC, UPDF of Uganda, Gichumbi, and South Sudan.

Pool B, whose matches get underway on Monday 4 December will see Kenya’s General Service Unit (GSU) opening the group action against Uganda Prison in the group that also has Equity Bank HC, Uganda’s Evergreen, and former ECAHF champions Rwanda Police.

Day 2 matches begin with the clash between the two paramilitary sides at 10 am While JKT takes on NCPB from 11:30 am in the only women’s match of the day. Rwanda Police play Equity from 2:30 pm while Ulinzi HC open their campaign against UPDF from 4 pm.

Women

 Pool A

Nairobi Water - Kenya

KDF - Kenya

Nkajja - Uganda

Pool B

NCPB - Kenya

JKT - Tanzania

South Sudan

Men

Pool A

NCPB - Kenya

KDF - Kenya

UPDF - Uganda

South Sudan

Gicumbi - Rwanda

Pool B

GSU - Kenya

Equity Bank - Kenya

Uganda Prison

Evergreen - Uganda

Rwanda Police