Kenya Ice Lions: The rise of ice hockey in East Africa

Kenya has joined Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa in the African Group at the IIHF, which has 84 members, but captain Mburu says the next step will prove to be the toughest.

He explained, “We must now reach IIHF standards, and that is where our work ends.”

But this is a team that has already faced many challenges, including establishing itself in a sport almost unheard of, at least in East Africa.

The Ice Lions were started by a group of immigrants from the United States and Canada who conducted a recruitment campaign.

As roller hockey became more accessible and popular in Kenya, many new members were encouraged to wear skates with wheels instead of blades.

Tim Colby, who has coached the Ice Lions since the beginning, says love and dedication to the game has taken the team this far.

“It’s not easy to play ice hockey at the equator,” the Canadian told the BBC.

“The biggest challenge is ice time. Access to ice is expensive.”

Just one hour on the ice rink at the Panari Hotel costs about $100.

Those high rates mean teams are typically only able to train once a week.

Their home is also a quarter the size of the Olympic rink, so the Ice Lions are limited to playing four-on-four games (including goaltenders).

Full games are six-a-side and require one goaltender, two defenders and three forwards.

Colby says getting enough protective equipment for the team proved difficult.

“We need a lot of specialized equipment and it’s only available in Europe and North America,” he said.

For the first few years, many players abandoned equipment like helmets and wore only shin pads.

It may also take several months to replace a hockey stick.