Kenya

Kenya
Continent	Africa
Population	52,428,290
Registered players	86
Referees	0
Rinks	1
National teams	None
National federation	Kenya Federation of Ice Sports
IIHF since	September 27, 2024

Kenya is a country in East Africa. Nairobi is the capital and largest city.

Overview

National Teams

Men's · Men's-U20 · Men's-U18 · Women's · Women's-U18

Arenas

See Category:Arenas in Kenya

History of hockey in Kenya

The Kenya Federation of Ice Sports was formed in 2019, and the country joined the International Ice Hockey Federation on September 27, 2024.

There is an ice rink in Nairobi known as the Solar Ice Rink (opened 2005), located at the Panari Sky Centre. Ice hockey is played at the facility, and there is an informal competition known as the Kenyan Ice Hockey League, which features a mix of local and international players. Games are played on Wednesday's, which are known as "Ice Hockey Wednesday". The first KIHL game was played in January 2006, featuring "Winnipeg vs. The World". Winnipeg won 4-3.

In 2014, the Mashujaa Cup was organized, with The Expats winning the trophy over the Kenya Hockey team. The rink hosted a "local tournament for schools" on April 24, 2015, which was billed as the "First Ice Hockey Tournament in East & Central Africa." Some inline players were recruited to form Kenya's first hockey team, which has (overly-ambitious) hopes of qualifying for the 2022 Winter Olympics hockey tournament. A Junior Cup Tournament was staged in 2017. In August 2018, Tim Horton's flew the Kenya Ice Lions to Canada, provided them with new gear, and organized a game with NHL superstars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. A documentary about the event, titled "The Away Game", was also produced.

On March 9, 2019, the Kenya Ice Lions fell 10-9 to the Last Game All Stars in Nairobi. The game was played to call attention to the impact of climate change in Kenya and around the world. The Solar rink hosted the Madaraka Day Cup tournament on June 22 and 23, 2019. Team Canada, Team Europe, Team USA, and the Kenya Ice Lions participated. Team USA won the tournament, beating the Ice Lions 10-9 in the final. Team Canada defeated Team Europe 13-1 in the third place game. Kenya played two friendly games against the Russian Hawks in Nairobi on August 22 and 24, 2019. The two sides tied the first game 7-7, and the Hawks won the second, 6-4. From December 9-13, 2019, Nairobi hosted the Kenya International Ice Hockey Tournament. Kenya beat the Mighty Moose 9-2, Gotta Have Faith 10-9, and Abusement Park 10-5, while losing to Five Minutes for Poaching 12-3 and 8-6.

On December 13, 2022, the World Team defeated Kenya 9-4 in Nairobi. On February 6, 2023, Kenya beat Team Canada Nairobi 9-2 as part of the Madaraka Day Cup. Another game for the cup a month later saw Team World defeat Kenya 6-4. Team World also thumped the Kenyan team 12-2 on December 9, 2023, in a game for the Jahmuri Cup. From August 19-23, 2024, Kenya played the Friendship Pro Team in a 4-game series in Cape Town, South Africa. The Pro Team won the first game, 9-8, and the final affair, 5-4, with Kenya taking the middle two by scores of 13-3 and 9-3. On December 12, 2024, Team World beat Kenya 9-5 in Nairobi.