Kenya to host international handball tournament in July

Following the withdrawal of Ethiopia from hosting the Zone Five International Handball Federation (IHF) Trophy tournament, Kenya has been granted the hosting rights if the event. 

IHF and African Handball Confederation (CAHB) has, however, postponed the all 2022 tournaments with the Zone Five showpiece moved to 24 to 30 July from 29 April to 5 May when it had been scheduled for. 

Kenya Handball Federation (KHF) fixtures secretary Charles Omondi says hosting the men's Under 20 and under 18 Zone Five IHF Trophy tournament gives the country a good chance to qualify for the African event and the subsequently the World Cup. 

"We are thrilled to be hosting an event of this stature as it is an advantage to our youngsters to compete with their peers and get a chance to feature in the African championships that will act as the qualifiers for the World Cup. We have time between now and July to put our house in order and have the identified players have proper preparations," said Omondi. 

While there is no junior league to choose the two national teams from, Omondi remains confident that Kemya will have formidable sides thanks to schools that have dedicated themselves to nurturing young talent. 

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"We have schools that play in the premier league and our youth coach Gerald Juma has done a good job in keeping most handballers active even when school games were halted. We will have a good pool of talented players to choose from. 

We only need to begin plans for the players' passports and other requirements wellman time so we are sure no player will be locked out and we have the best squads possible," added Omondi.