Will there be light at the end of the Hockey tunnel?

For close to two years, voiceless players, coaches, umpires and other relevant stakeholders have been on the receiving end of a despicable raw deal from the Kenya Hockey Union (KHU).

Various sports federations took pride in successfully kick-starting their stalled activities in 2020 after months of stoppage occasioned by the threat posed by coronavirus. 

The return to action, vetoed by the Ministry of Sports and that of Health honchos in the middle of a pandemic was seen as a victory over the virus that saw federation bosses punch in the air for negotiating for, facilitating and assuring safe resumption. 

The government heeded to the loud calls to permit sporting activities to resume late in 2020 but came up with a raft of guidelines aimed at sealing any loopholes for the spread of the virus. 

While all competitions resumed in the year or early in the past calendar after ticking right all the boxes set by the government, the same can not be said in hockey as to date, the sport is slowly sliding to its deathbed. 

The Union tried to breath life into its activities in April and July last year but didn't succeed despite the government giving sportsmen from all disciplines a priority in the list of Kenyans to receive the vaccines. 

In a move aimed at testing the preparedness of the restart as well as gear up for the Africa Cup of Nations, the union organized test matches against Uganda in March which turned out to be an embarrassment especially on the men's team, as they lost by a solitary goal to Uganda for the first time in recent times. 

Save for the test matches, a number of tournaments were held in the year to keep the rusty players at least active awaiting for the union to restart the three tiers they manage. 

While there was nothing to write home about the game in the year in regards to the league and management of the game, Wazalendo went out of their way to represent the country at the African Clubs Championships in Accra Ghana. 

The club was supposed to be accompanied by defending champions Blazers (Women), Butali Warriors (Men) and United States International University of Africa (USIU-A) Scorpions to the tournament but all did not travel citing lack of funds. 

Effects of the prolonged delay

Seasoned Blazers head coach Jos Openda did not mince his words when describing the ramifications the lack competitive matches over the time had inflicted in his camp. 

The award winning tactician who commands respect within the hockey circles not only in Kenya but the continent by virtue of the 13 national titles, eight at the continental level among others regretted that Blazers are no longer the invincible they used to be. 

Openda had risen the Women's Premier League bar higher in recent times, challenging his girls to retain the title they have been winning in the last decade for fun without conceding a goal!. 

The tough talking gaffer on the touchline fears that the players have lost the flair, rhythm and the chemistry they had between themselves and are not favorites to clinch the title again once action resumes. Further, Openda said the break was a form of injustice to his aging players

"We are no longer the women's league invincible we were before the advent of coronavirus. The advantage we had over the rest is long gone due to lack of competitive matches. All teams will begin from a clean slate when the league matches are back. The stalled activities will have a toll on all players especially those who are above 26 years. It is sad two seasons of their active years have been taken from them," he rued. 

Openda's sentiments were echoed by Oranje Leonas head coach and retired Kenyan international Tom Olal who said the hockey fraternity will never recover the lost time and pay heavily for it at the international level. 

Olal who has been championing for talent identification and player development at the grassroot level said the top flight standards will certain dwindle owing to the long period of inactivity. 

"Hockey is not a professional sport in Kenya and as such, I fear that majority of the players apart from those who play for university teams have moved on to do other things after almost two years of waiting for the league to restart. The levels across all leagues will deep for players are unfit," he said. 

The former USIU-A Spartans head coach who has been sparing time to train Primary School kids back in Kisumu called out the union for doing the bare minimum in nurturing talents. 

"I am afraid we do not have a well laid out program to tap and train players. I challenge the union to come out and explain their contribution in and the impact they have for the game. I made my debut for the national team when I was sixteen years old after I was scouted and guided. What is the union doing to ensure that talents at the grassroot level do not go to waste? He challenged.

National teams

In the middle of the uncertainty over the stalled flow of the league, the national teams are scheduled to return to the African Cup of Nations this month in Ghana.

The two teams that had been training for the competition for a while finished fourth in the 2017 edition held at the Suez Canal Stadium in Egypt. 

KHU's Response

When pressed to shed light on the prolonged delay, Secretary General Wycliffe Ongori laid the blame on clubs for failing to furnish his office with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test results for players every weekend. 

"The Ministry was clear on the guidelines to be followed for the league to resume. We were to share results of the players before each and every match but our clubs, unfortunately didn't have the capacity to test players week in week out," said the former player.

However, Ongori, a forward in his heyday promised to roll his sleeves and work towards having the league roar back to life in February. 

"Thankfully, vaccines are available which is a big boost to our plan to resume in February. We want all leagues to get back early this year. The draft fixtures is ready and I am looking forward to the sport rolling again." he declared

At the same time Ongori announced that plans were underway to have elections starting from the county to the national level in the course of the year.

Ongori and the rest of current officer bearers at the national level who have been criticized for not engineering the redemption of the sport were voted in January 2018.