THREE more teams have pulled out of the
forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations hockey
championship scheduled for November
18-24 at the City Park Stadium, Nairobi.
Namibia, Nigeria and Seychelles exited
the event— bringing the to number of
teams that have withdrawn to four. Egypt
were the first to pull out citing lack of
training time following the political
upraising in the Northern Africa country.
Seven countries with representation of
both women and men teams were slated
to participate in the championship, apart
from Tanzania who will only send a
women’s team.
Hosts Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and
Tanzania are the only remaining teams
expected to honour the show.
National coach Meshack Senge registered
concern over the mass withdrawals but
was quick to say that the move could
work to their advantage. “This is a good
chance for us to qualify for the World
Championship,” he said. He, however,
said there are no pushovers in the
tournament and the competition will be
tight.
Senge, who also doubles up as Strathmore
University coach, observed that they have
heard enough time in training and the
players are focused.
“Of course the changes in date have had
negative impact on my players but I
believe they are now focused,” he added.
The event was initially set for September
25 to October 5 but the dates were
moved forward due to Westgate Mall
terror attack.
Asked whether there was a possibility of
the tournament being hit with a low turn
out, Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) vice
chairlady, Elina Shiveka, said there priority
is to stage the event but exuded
confidence that they will form a quorum.
She said, “As the union, we are not
responsible for who graces the occasion
or who doesn’t. Our main goal is to
ensure the event is seccussful,” said
Shiveka.