Kenya’s Under-18 men booked their place at the inaugural International Hockey Federation (FIH) Youth Hockey5s World Cup after running riot on the opening day of the Africa Youth Hockey5s Cup at Dashmesh Stadium, Nairobi Sikh Union, on Thursday, August 6, 2026.
The hosts secured a place in Saturday’s final with a match to spare — and with it one of Africa’s two World Cup tickets — after destroying South Africa 8-5 in their opening match before overpowering Nigeria 10-5 in the second fixture.
Captain Kelvin Onyango led from the front, scoring a hat-trick as Kenya came from behind twice to stun South Africa in an exciting encounter.
South Africa struck first through Carolus Jay-Dee before Onyango equalised from a penalty. Milan Stipcevich restored South Africa’s lead, but Onyango again levelled matters with a powerful long-range effort.
Caleb Korir then put Kenya ahead for the first time before Meshack Reagan stretched the advantage to 4-2 at halftime. Daniel Omondi added the fifth goal after the break, Pongwana Ndyebo replied for South Africa, and Korir netted his second for 6-3. Reagan grabbed another before Onyango completed his hat-trick to make it 8-3.
Candy Blaine scored South Africa’s last two goals, but Kenya comfortably held on for victory.
Kenya followed up with another attacking masterclass against Nigeria, winning 10-5 to seal qualification.
Godfrey Fedha opened the scoring after a pass from Onyango before Peter Awot doubled the lead for 2-0. Onyango then converted a Nigerian attack into Kenya’s third goal before Stephen Ali pulled one back.
Omondi converted a penalty for 4-1 and added another immediately after the restart before Fedha made it 6-1. Peter Wachira struck twice with trademark backhand finishes, while Umar Auwai scored three goals for Nigeria and John Emmanuel added the fifth. Kenya’s other goal came from Onyango from slick team exchanges as the hosts sealed another emphatic victory.
Coach Griffin Okombe noted that qualification was reward for sticking to the team’s game plan.
“It has been a good day for our boys. Everything worked according to plan and these wins mean we have qualified for the final and the World Cup. We now focus on our final group phase match against Uganda on Friday and preparing for the final,” explained Okombe.
Onyango urged his teammates to remain focused.
“We worked hard for these results and we must prepare well for tomorrow because every match is important,” advised the captain.
The women’s team endured mixed fortunes, surrendering 5-3 to South Africa before bouncing back to whitewash Uganda 7-0.
Virginia Mogeni, Valary Imisa and Mitchell Khatioli scored for Kenya against South Africa, while Claire Volschenk bagged a hat-trick and Codie Bestbier and Azania Petersen added the other goals.
Kenya were left to rue missed chances after failing to convert two penalties, hitting the woodwork and failing to capitalise despite enjoying a numerical advantage when two South African players were sin-binned. South Africa struck twice in the final three minutes after returning to full strength.
The Kenyan girls responded strongly in their second match as Imisa scored twice before Audrey Grener struck four goals and Marina McRae added another in a dominant 7-0 victory over Uganda.
Coach Barbara Simiyu attributed the opening loss to nerves and late changes to the match schedule.
“The girls looked unsure in the first game because this is their first tournament at this level, but they showed great character against Uganda. This win is a huge morale booster,” noted Simiyu.
Africa Hockey Federation president Seif Ahmed of Egypt and vice-president Nii Quaye-Kumah witnessed the opening day action as Kenya’s boys celebrated a historic World Cup qualification. Kenyan girls have tricky assignments against Ghana and Nigeria on Friday. They have no option, but to win the fixture in order to join their male counterparts at the World Cup.
