Kenya Net Kings miss bronze at 2026 Africa Netball Cup

Kenya’s men’s netball team Net Kings, missed out on a medal for the second successive year after being outplayed 46-35 by Uganda in the bronze-medal playoff at Kasarani Indoor Arena, Nairobi on Friday.

The loss means Kenya will again finish outside the medals after losing the bronze-medal match to Eswatini at the previous edition in Malawi in 2025.

Uganda, meanwhile, secured their first medal in their second appearance at the African championship, with head coach Asiimwe Jesse noting that the result reflected the team’s progress after finishing fifth last year.

The Net Kings made a bright start, with goal shooter Christovin Juma and goal attack Victor Mbithi putting Kenya 3-0 ahead. However, Uganda gradually worked their way back into the contest, exploiting Kenyan turnovers and lapses in possession to lead 12-10 at the end of the opening quarter.

Coach Peter Oloo's charges continued to struggle with ball retention in the second quarter as Uganda applied pressure across the court. A stolen pass intended for Mbithi and several misplaced long passes allowed Uganda to extend their advantage.

Despite Mbithi and Juma finding the net, Kenya went into halftime trailing 27-15.

The third quarter saw Kenya attempt to fight back, with Juma and Mbithi scoring regularly. Uganda, however, remained composed and repeatedly punished turnovers to maintain control. Kenya trailed 36-24 heading into the final quarter.

The Net Kings produced their strongest spell late in the match. Mbithi scored five times as Kenya reduced the deficit to 42-32 with five minutes remaining, raising hopes of a late comeback.

But Uganda held their nerve. A misplaced pass from Isaac Langat went directly to a Ugandan player and the Kenyan neighbours went on to convert, while Kenya could not capitalise on their final opportunities. Mbithi missed a late penalty as Uganda completed a 46-35 victory.

Kenya midfielder Stanley Benaia identified defensive cohesion as one of the team's biggest shortcomings.

“Today's game was smart. We tried to play well, but not to our capacity,” observed Benaia. “The challenge we had today against Uganda was our defence.”

He explained that Kenya had at times relied too heavily on the goal defence and goalkeeper instead of defending collectively.

“When we stopped playing defence as a unit, we left it to the three of them. It is where the gap grew,” he revealed.

Benaia nevertheless saw room for growth, calling for a stronger bench and greater development of younger players.

Uganda coach Jesse disclosed that his side deliberately sought to deny Kenya the aerial game while applying man-to-man defence.

“Since Kenya players are so fast, we tried our best to dictate the play on defence, to press them, to force them to make turnovers,” said Jesse.

The strategy worked, giving Uganda their maiden medal.

“We are so much excited about winning the bronze medal,” said Jesse. “This is not a bad start... We are looking forward to win a gold medal come next year.”

South Africa and Eswatini will meet in the gold medal match on Saturday. Malawi finished the men's round-robin tournament last.

The focus now shifts to the women’s competition, where Kenya’s Divas face Zimbabwe in a fifth-place ranking match after World Netball’s decision to send Malawi and Namibia to the 2027 Netball World Cup.

Divas head coach Tapiwa Chirenda observed that the change had been difficult for his players to process, but urged them to refocus on finishing the tournament strongly.

“It’s very difficult now,” said the Zimbabwean. “We have to go back, reorient the girls, get their mindset back, and we just try and play for the rankings.”

South Africa and Uganda women came to the September 19-26 championship already qualified for the World Cup via world rankings. They also dominated Pool One and Pool Two, respectively and will meet in the final on Saturday.

Malawi and Namibia who came second in their respective pools will fight for bronze on Friday.