Kenya U18 men's Hockey team/ HANDOUT
Kenya may have left Sikh Union Club with gold and silver, but for overall head coach Griffin Okombe, the real test begins now as the country prepares to debut the inaugural FIH Youth Hockey5s World Cup in December.
Okombe guided Kenya’s boys to a historic 6-5 victory over South Africa in the inaugural U18 Hockey5s Youth Africa Cup final, while the girls secured silver after losing 11-6 to the same opponents.
The results secured World Cup qualification for both Kenyan teams, with the top two sides in each gender earning tickets to the global showpiece. “We are happy with what we have achieved here, but this is only the beginning,” said Okombe. “The World Cup will be a different challenge, and we have to prepare the players mentally and physically for that level.”
Kenya’s boys completed an unbeaten campaign, topping the preliminary standings before edging South Africa in a tense final. Captain Kelvin Onyango, the two-time KSSSA National MVP and 2026 national champion, played a key role in guiding the team to the continental title. Okombe believes the girls’ silver medal should serve as motivation, rather than disappointment, ahead of their first global assignment.
“Of course, we wanted both gold medals, but the girls have achieved something important by qualifying for the World Cup,” he said. “We now have time to look at what happened in the final and work on those areas before December.”
Preparation will now focus on sharpening the teams’ technical and tactical qualities while keeping the players physically ready for the demands of the fast-paced Hockey5s format. “We have to go back, analyse the tournament and identify where we need to improve,” Okombe said.
“The players have shown they can compete, but the World Cup will require more consistency, speed and discipline.” The qualification extends Kenya’s growing association with Hockey5s.
The senior men competed at the inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup in Muscat, Oman, in 2024. The youth teams will now seek to build on that foundation when they make their global debut in December, with the boys arriving as Africa’s inaugural U18 champions and the girls carrying the experience of reaching the continental final.
“We do not want to go to the World Cup just to participate,” Okombe said. “We want to go there, compete and show that Kenya can also be a force in Hockey5s.”
