A. WesongaOPINION: Kenyan Hockey is on its deathbed and KHU is to blame
Reading Time: 5min | Wed. 01.02.23. | 15:10
The standards of hockey in the country have terribly gone down and at the centre of it all is the Kenya Hockey Union
In the late 60’s up until the early 90’s Kenyan hockey was a force to reckon in the world stage. Notably hockey was the first team sport to represent Kenya in the 1956 summer Olympics. The men’s national team went ahead and played the 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984 and 1988 Olympics with their best performance being sixth place in 1964. The team also played two world cups in 1971 and 1973, notably being ranked 4th in 1971 after losing 1-2 to West Germany in the semifinals.
Kenya Hockey Team poses for a group photo before the 1964 Olympics © Courtesy
Up until 2016 Kenyan men were ranked third in Africa behind South Africa while the women were ranked second but currently, our teams are struggling against countries that have risen to the ranks such as Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Namibia. The above mentioned countries have made this possible because of their well-organized national federations.
If you visit the national hockey stadium, you can clearly see the condition of the playing surface which can’t even host the lowest international competition like the test-series matches we had against Uganda in January 2021 which was hosted by Sikh Union, Nairobi. The last international competition held at the City Park Stadium was the Africa Cup for Club Champions in January 2017 and the playing surface was already dilapidated. Currently, the Kenya men’s national team is ranked at position 57 in the world while the women are ranked 37.
Today I will talk about hockey since it’s the sport I love, a sport that has given me identity and a sport that has given me great friends. Currently, hockey is on its deathbed and I fear for the future generations.
In an interview with the late Parminder Singh Saini ‘Kake’ in May 2020, he stated that the current Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) office needs to be transparent and sincere, they need to build capacity to spread the hockey game like it used to be in the early years and, generally, hockey in Kenya needs to have the right people to lead and support the affiliate associations. He expressed his disappointment in the quality of hockey being played in the country.
“During our playing days, there was exposure and we used to play international games and friendlies atleast twice a year, we used to meet top teams in the world,” said Saini. “Teams like Australia, Germany and other top teams in the world couldn’t beat us more than three goals! In the 1984 Olympics we lost 1-2 to Great Britain and it wasn’t easy for them,” he added. Saini represented Kenya the Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 Olympic Games and passed away on 30 May 2021 aged 63, in a sign of the esteem in which 'Kake' was held, a minute's silence was observed during the Madaraka Day celebrations in Kisumu on 1st June 2021.
Parminder Singh Saini in action during the 1988 Olympic Games © Courtesy
The current office at the Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) will take my blame, and without fear of contradiction I will state that the current officials are in office illegally according to article 20(1) of the Sports Act of 2013 which states that: An organization shall hold election in accordance with the rules provided in its constitution. Article 15 (a) of the Kenya Hockey Union states that: Immediately preceding the Annual General Meeting of the Union, a combined meeting of the Foundation of Life and Honorary Members presided over by the president of KHU will be held at which meeting they will elect a committee. The committee so elected shall remain in office for four years and until such time that a special or Annual General meeting is called for that purpose.
How can we explain the poor planning for competitions, which sadly affects the women more than the men? Early last year we had the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana which acted as the Olympic and Commonwealth games qualifiers, the women’s national team dished out a walkover to hosts Ghana. The African Hockey Federation held the inaugural Hockey 5’s World Cup Qualifiers in Egypt from the 10th to 15th December 2022 although our men’s team qualified for a spot in the first Hockey 5’s World Cup that will be played in Oman our women’s team handed walkovers to South Africa, Zambia and Egypt making it impossible for them to compete for a qualification spot in the World competition.
Many hockey lovers including myself have been asking about the basis of appointments and dismissal of coaches and players. During the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2022, the women’s National team finished third and qualified for the Commonwealth games. Notably, the team’s assistant coach Barbara Simiyu, the team captain Rhoda Kuira and our top scorer Aurelia Opondo who played a key role in the qualifying process were dismissed from participating in the Commonwealth games and upon enquiries from the public, no valid reason was given.
We are qualifying for the global competitions not because we are better than we were, but because the slots for Africa have been expanded. Does the Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) as currently constituted have the capacity to educate players, teams and affiliated association about the Sports Act? The KHU Executive Committee led by the president and his Secretary General have proved to be a federation that the key stakeholders of the game,who are the players cannot talk or question. The fans have been labelled as naysayers and the corporate world cannot even look at partnering with a sport that has transparency issues not mentioning accountability of the financial statements.
Many people depend on sports for their livelihood.We need to intervene and save the game because when the passion dies, it will be very difficult to convince new generations to love the game and the existing generation to love it AGAIN.
Alvin Wesonga is a Kenyan sports enthusiast and sports journalist who has exclusively covered hockey in Africa
