The 2021 Kenya Handball Federation National League was full of thrills and spills.
Former champions Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) which looked a decent bet for the title settled for the fifth position in the 19-team league that saw National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) men’s team retain the title.
KDF who remained unbeaten halfway through the season suffered a shock 31-32 loss to Kenyatta University (KU) in the league. The loss to the university students was followed by three more defeats against Black Mamba (31-30), Strathmore University (25-23) and NCPB (29-28).
At some point, KDF team manager Yusuf Kipkoech blamed unnecessary substitutions for their losses.
The military side boasts many experienced national team players, among them Nicholas Ireri, Musa Munyasia, Isaac Kaloli, Junior Kipng’etich, Harlot Mumbo and Kevin Imo.
Strathmore University finished second in the league with 32 points, two behind NCPB as Black Mamba finished third with 30 points while General Service Unit (GSU) were fourth with 24 points, four ahead of KDF. KU completed the top six positions with 23 points.
GSU who joined the league in 2019 made a remarkable improvement, placing fourth. KU beat the odds to rank sixth despite having just few hours to train together and sometimes failing to have a quorum for matches.
In the women’s league, NCPB failed to sparkle, finishing third while newcomers Nanyuki finished in fourth position.
NCPB’s team manager, Edina Kasandi, said the team future looks bright for the team with greater input from players.
“We ought to have been among the title contenders but we finished a distant fourth. We will go back to the drawing board and recruit talented player ahead of the new season and hopefully the results will be different,” he said .
Nairobi Water successfully defended the title with stiff competition from rivals KDF who lost to them narrowly in the first and second leg matches.
The forces side lost 28-29 in the first leg and 26-30 in the second. Nairobi Water coach Jack Ochieng conceded that KDF had come of age in spite of the loss.
“KDF has given us a run for our money this season and I must applaud them. That is the competition we have been yearning for. I hope next season will be much better,” said Ochieng.
KDF team manager Kipkoech is happy with their progress so far.
“The players gave a good account of themselves this time round, and we want to build on that going forward,” Kipkoech offered.
At the end, NCPB qualified for next year’s Super Cup in the men’s category alongside Strathmore University, Black Mamba, GSU, KDF and KU.
Played at the end of the regular season, the Super Cup attracts the top six teams from the men’s league and four from the women’s category. Nairobi water, KDF, NCPB and Nanyuki will battle for the title in the women’s category.
Celestus Okoyana from men’s league team Generation emerged top scorer for the season with 134 goals, followed by GSU’s Christopher Mayende (118) and KDF’s Kevin Imo (116).
In the women’s league, KDF’s Sarah Wasike led with 93 goals, followed by NCPB’s Sarah Mabonga (89) and Nanyuki’s Marjorie Okwakau (81).
The phrase “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” best describes the successful ending to the 2021 men’s and women’s leagues.
Despite having limited resources, the federation ensured the league that featured 19 men’s teams and 12 clubs in the women’s category was completed in time.
The federation anticipates a collection of Sh54,000 from the 31 clubs participating in its leagues, inclusive of participation fee and player registration but not all the clubs met remitted the money to KHF.
KHF Fixture Secretary Charles Omondi said the situation would have been different had they had sponsors.
“It has not been easy. We have been working on a shoestring budget, bearing in mind that not all the teams have cleared the participation and registration fees. That notwithstanding, we have been able to run a successful league,” Omondi said.
“For instance, there is no prize money for league winners, just trophies and bragging rights to show for their effort,” said Omondi, who also doubles up as the Secretary General for East and Central Africa Handball Federation.
NCPB (men and women), Nairobi Water and Black Mamba represented Kenya in 2021 East and Central Africa Senior Club Championship in Dar es Salaam.
The regional championship brings together top clubs from Rwanda, Zanzibar, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Kenya.
Nairobi Water retained the women’s title which they won in 2019 in Rwanda in the round robin competition, while NCPB men’s team failed to extend their local supremacy to the region, losing 27-28 to Rwanda Police in the final.
NCPB women’s team finished second ahead of Kiziguro of Rwanda, Ngome and Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa from Tanzania.
Black Mamba bagged the bronze medal, Ngome were placed fourth as JKL and Nyuki of Zanzibar finished in the fifth and sixth positions respectively in the men’s category.
While Nairobi Water has continued to dominate the local and regional events, little can be said of other teams from Kenya which have often failed to match regional opponents.
At the regional completion , Nairobi Water player Brenda Ariviza emerged the Most Valuable Player while NCPB’s Victor Otuoma was awarded the best goalkeeper.
At the same time, the national women’s team failed to impress in the African Championship staged in Cameroon in June.
Drawn in Pool ‘B,’ Kenya failed to go past group stage after losing to the hosts 40-26 and 42-16 to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The team fell 26-21 to Nigeria 26-21.
Angola beat Cameroon 25-15 in the final to successfully defend the women’s title. But Kenyans will remember that once again, the ghost of late arrival to the host city that came back to haunt the national team that arrived at the venue a few hours to the kick-off.
The men’s team will compete in the African Nations Cup from January 13 to 23 in Morocco. BY DAILY NATION