Kenyan floorball teams decry a lack of support from the government

The national floorball teams returned to the country on Wednesday, September 20, after an underwhelming African Championships campaign in Ivory Coast. The Kenyans competed as the defending champions, but neither the men's nor women's sides held on to their crown to finish third and second, respectively.

They were severely derailed by the government, which failed to fund their full squads to travel. Only five men and an equal number of women made the trip instead of the required 20 players per team.

Speaking during their return, the women's captain, Faith Kimwatek, wondered what it cost the government to send the whole team to the showcase. She noted that the few players playing without substitutes cost them their title. The teams were keen to defend their titles, but they failed.

"We really had to push beyond our limits, but we gave a good fight. The games were tough, given that floorball has really grown over the years. The competition was high and not what we expected. We felt like if we were appreciated or received more funds, we would have performed better," Kimwatek said upon their arrival.

The team has been sharpening its claws since June and is looking to defend the titles they won in 2019 before the COVID-19 disruption. The tournament had taken a break due to the pandemic but made a comeback in Ivory Coast.

About Floorball

Until recently, floorball remained a little-known sport in Kenya. The world is slowly but surely adjusting to the beauty of this game.

The journey of this new game started on the dusty pitches of Ofafa Jericho in 2016. This is when it was first introduced by Swiss coaches invited to Kenya by the Glory Outreach Assembly Programme. It has between three and five players and a goalkeeper on each team. It is played for three sessions of 20 minutes each. There are two referees with equal authority in every game.

Globally, floorball has been finding its way into local sports since its development in the early 1960s and 1970s. It originated in Sweden.

The sport first spread to Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Norway, Lativa, Denmark, Estonia, and Finland. A rise in popularity has been noted in Australia, the USA, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan.

It is intentionally organized by the International Floorball Federation (IFF), which has 58 members and two professional leagues: Finland's Salibandyliiga and Sweden's Svenska Superligan. The Euro Floorball Cup is held annually for clubs, while the World Floorball Champions are held biennially.

Kenya is a registered member of the IFF. The sport in Kenya is organized by the Kenya Floorball Federation (KFF). The federation is steered by Paul Maina, and under him, there is a coach, Kevin Maina Muriithi. The two have played a major role in training more than 200 coaches from universities, technical institutions, and secondary and primary schools.

That win was for my late mum - Patrick Odongo