KHU league to adopt pooling system of play next season
Nakuru Hockey Club's Caleb Nyakundi vies for the ball with Zack Aura of Butali Sugar Warriors during their Kenya Hockey Union men's Premier League match at City Park Stadium on April 3, 2016. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |
What you need to know:
- The 2015 season, which began in August last year, was played on a home and away basis and ended last weekend with Butali Sugar Warriors and Telkom Orange retaining the men’s and women’s titles respectively.
- The Union is believed to have already met the various clubs who have unanimously agreed on the format of play.
- The top flight league, which is made up of 15 teams, will be split into two pools comprising of seven and eight teams respectively.
The 2016 Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) Men’s Premier League, which gets underway mid-next month, will adopt a pooling system. The move, according to KHU, will ensure the league ends by November and save on time.
The 2015 season, which began in August last year, was played on a home and away basis and ended last weekend with Butali Sugar Warriors and Telkom Orange retaining the men’s and women’s titles respectively.
The National Men’s League was played in a pooling system as newcomers Chase Sailors won the title on their debut season after beating Bay Club in the playoffs with both clubs earning promotion to the top-flight league.
KHU vice chairperson Elynah Shiveka said the move was only for the 2016 season as the leagues were running behind schedule. Shiveka however noted that the National Women’s League teams will continue playing on the home and away basis.
“We are far behind schedule and the only way to ensure we finish the league at the stipulated time, which is in November, is to adopt a pooling system because the men’s leagues have many teams,” Shiveka told Saturday Nation Sport on Friday.
The top two teams from each pool will proceed to the play offs where the winners will play in the finals to determine the overall winner.
The Union is believed to have already met the various clubs who have unanimously agreed on the format of play. The top flight league, which is made up of 15 teams, will be split into two pools comprising of seven and eight teams respectively.
The pooling system was last used during the 2014 season with Butali and Telkom again winning the men’s and women’s titles.
The Union however abandoned the system at the end of that season after clubs criticised the format saying it gave some teams undue advantage. Back then, Butali Sugar Warriors played their matches after all other teams had completed their pool matches after a stand-off with the Union.
The team went on to top their pool and reached the playoffs where they beat Wazalendo 4-0 before defeating Kenya Police 2-1 in the final.
“It is not really a good system because clubs play fewer matches and some teams might benefit from fixing matches. But since we have lost much time, it can work for this season,” Police coach Kenneth Kaunda said.
Meanwhile, the Union is expected to send the national men’s and women’s teams to the World League Series to be held in Ghana in September.
