Watershed moment for national hockey outfits

Uganda’s female and male national hockey teams arrive in Nairobi, Kenya this afternoon with a feeling of triumph.
The biggest hurdle was never playing Kenya in this internationally-sanctioned Series but making the trip. It has been a long time coming.

“National Council of Sports is excited about the growth of hockey and that is why we have come in to support and endorse this trip,” the body’s assistant secretary general Tito Kayiwa, told excited players during yesterday’s flag off in Lugogo.

“We are happy that your leaders have managed to mobilize most of the funds. We came in to support with the Covid-19 tests and also cleared (tax dues at the airport) the equipment that will you use,” he added as the players prepared to set off by road at 11pm last night. The bus also donated them for this trip by local football governing body, Fufa.
This is a watershed moment as the national teams had been disbanded over players’ indiscipline in 2011 by then Uganda Hockey Association (UHA) president Dunstan Nsubuga. 

Since then, it has been a rollercoaster of events as Uganda strived to revive the teams. In 2014, players were called together ahead of the Nile Basin Tournament in Egypt but the competition never saw the light of day.
Fast forward to 2018, players were promised to wear national team colours for the President’s Cup - this time at home - but their competitors never turned up.

The consolation was Uganda getting a promotion to participate in the Africa Olympic qualifiers in Stellenbosch - South Africa. 

Later that year, a select national side took part and won the Maghareb Festival against Kenyan clubs in western Kenya.
After over two months of training and postponement of the national league, UHA failed to secure funds for their sides to make it to Stellenbosch in August 2019.

A sit down strike that could have hampered the completion of the 2019 league ensued but UHA quickly worked with club leaders to demobilize it.

Early this year, the players forgave and forgot the past and reconvened to prepare for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers that were due in the first week of this month in Nairobi.
Suffice to note that this qualifier should have happened last year in May but was postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

With Uganda and Kenya ready, other participating nations failed to beat the January 31, deadline for confirmation. The two sides were rewarded with automatic qualification to the January 2022 Afcon in Ghana.
Africa Hockey Federation (AfHF) and International Hockey Federation (FIH) went on to propose a Series among willing nations, where they would use the results for ranking and seeding ahead of January 2022, but the response was again poor cue the postponements.

However, the continental and international bodies finally endorsed a bi-nation Series that will start tomorrow at Sikh Union Club, Nairobi.

[email protected]