Hockey clubs converge in Mombasa for SANA Cup

The Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) Premier Leagues takes a break this weekend as all roads lead to Mombasa for the SANA Cup Tournament.

The tournament is held annually to memorialize hockey legend and a former Boabab Hockey Club Sponsor, the late Agnelo De Souza.

Last year’s event was cancelled following the 2017 repeat poll but the two-day event returns at the Braeburn International School in Bamburi where 18 teams will battle for top honours.

In total, 12 men’s teams and six ladies teams have registered for the eighth edition of the competition with record winners Kenya Police seeking their fifth men’s title.

Champions Wazalendo will hope to hold on to their crown while Telkom Kenya and United States International University (USIU), who have each lifted it twice, are the women’s favourites.

Kenya Police will lock horns with Wazalendo B, Kenya College of Accountants (KCA) men, USIU men, Green Sharks, and University of Nairobi (UON) men in pool A while the defending champions Wazalendo A will battle it out with the bankers Chase Sailors, Technical University of Kenya (TUK), Nairobi SIKH and coast based club, Mvita XI.

All the women teams are in the same Group C that includes the 2016 winners Telkom Kenya, 2015 winners USIU, Chase Amiras, Daystar University, UON and Wolverines.

The duration for the pool matches will be reduced from the normal 60 minutes to 20 minutes without a break and 10 minutes in each half in the semi final stage.

Moses Majiwa, KHU Fixture secretary said the tournament is not only held in honor of the late De Souza but also to promote hockey game and offer training to the hockey umpires, referees.

“We want people to understand hockey even at the grass root level. We have umpires who need more training and we use such tournaments to train them.”

“There are no cash rewards for the SANA Cup Tournament, only trophies to be won but this time round we are going to reward the captain of the most disciplined club with a trophy and Kenya Shillings 5,000 because discipline is key in hockey,” Majiwa told Citizen Digital.

KCA men will open the tournament against UON men at 10.00am tomorrow. This year’s event will be hosted by the Mombasa County Hockey Association (MCHA) in liaison with the KHU.