Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) season set to start this weekend after a 5-month break

The 2024 Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) season is set to start this weekend with 21 matches lined up across the five leagues (men's and women's Premier League, men's and women's Super League and the men's National League).

Initially planned to kick off on Saturday 27 July, the league's start date was rescheduled to Saturday 3 August to accommodate the annual Betty Tioni Memorial Tournament hosted by Nakuru Hockey Club to celebrate the former Kenyan International.

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This year's league format brings several notable changes and challenges. With City Park Hockey Stadium which has always hosted league matches undergoing renovations, all men's and women's Premier League matches will now be hosted at the Dashmesh Hockey Stadium.

The United States International University-Africa (USIU-A) will also be used as a venue while both the Super Leagues, which are the second-tier leagues, will see action at USIU-A and Impala Grounds.

The men's third-tier league is to be hosted at Impala Grounds, adding a new dynamic to the competitions, which were mainly played at the national hockey stadium.

KHU has opted for a one-legged league format this year, a significant shift from the traditional two-legged system because of the delay in starting the league. This change increases the stakes for each match, as teams will have fewer opportunities to recover from early losses.

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The highlight of the first day of the season will be the men's Premier League trophy presentation for the 2023 season at Dashmesh Stadium at 2:30 PM, before Butali Warriors, the defending champions, take on the 2023 first runners-up, Western Jaguars.

With KHU releasing league fixtures for August matches only, the biggest concern is the disparity in fixtures. The men's Premier League debutants, University of Eldoret, have no match, while in the women's Premier League, Kenyatta University and the University of Nairobi also do not have matches to play in August while all other teams have at least two matches.

Saturday Fixtures:

Premier League Men:

Butali Warriors vs Western Jaguars - 3 PM (Dashmesh Stadium)

Premier League Women:

Sliders vs Blazers - 2 PM (USIU-A)

Super League Men:

MSC vs Mvita - 3PM (Mombasa Sports Club)

Greensharks vs Wazalendo Masters - 4PM (USIU-A)

Super League Women:

Twinkle vs Black Tigress - 10 AM (USIU-A)

Mwiki Hockey vs Wazalendo Pearls - 12PM (USIU-A)

National League Men:

Impala vs Karate Axiom - 11 AM (Impala)

Parkroad Tigers vs Gorilla - 1 PM (Impala)

Kisii University vs Kisii Falcons - 2PM (Kisii)

GHF Blue Pirates vs Western Jaguars Dev - 2 PM (Kakamega)

Black Tigers vs Daystar University - 3 PM (Impala)