This archive report was first published on 26 December 2019.
December 26, 2019
The Kenya women's volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, is hoping to recapture the women's Team of the Year award it last won in 2016 at the Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards (Soya) gala set for next month in Mombasa.
The team will face stiff competition from the national women's football team, Harambee Starlets, as well as the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) basketball team.
Other contenders for the award include Kenya Football Federation Women's Premier League champions Vihiga Queens, who have won back-to-back league titles, and the Kenya Sevens team, Lionesses.
Malkia Strikers were nominated for the award after beating Cameroon in the final to retain the African Games title in Morocco.
The team also won the 2015 title in Congo Brazzaville and later played in the World Cup, winning one match against Cameroon.
On the other hand, KPA finished second in the just-concluded Fiba Zone Five Championship, losing to JKL from Uganda.
Kenya Lionesses qualified for the 2020 Olympics for the second time in a row, having also played in the 2016 Olympics.
Harambee Starlets will hope that their exploits at the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) Women Senior Challenge Cup will give them an edge over the other four teams.
Starlets won the regional tournament unbeaten and without conceding a goal.
