Kenya's national ice hockey team captain Benjamin Mburu (L) and goalkeeper Tyson Michael attend a training session in Nairobi, Kenya, on Nov. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
by Xinhua writers Wang Qi, You Huiyuan, Li Zhuoqun
NAIROBI, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- On a 32-by-12-meter sheet of ice chilled to minus 25 degrees Celsius, ice hockey is taking root on the equator. Kenya has become the 84th member of the International Ice Hockey Federation, carving out a place in the sport far from snow, winter, or tradition.
In October 2024, Kenya joined the world's largest hockey community as the fifth African member national association, alongside Algeria, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia, under the leadership of its chairman, Robert Ouko Opiyo.
"We started off with barely anything," said Opiyo, 35, who is a founding member of Kenya's team. "Now we are at a point where the majority of our players are kitted out."
In Kenya, where the temperatures rarely fall below 10 degrees Celsius, the ice rink, located midway between downtown Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, has remained unchanged for more than two decades, measuring just a quarter of an Olympic-sized surface.
For those representing the country, even with the game reduced to a three-on-three format, the heartbeat of a "one day" debut on the big stage has been pounding relentlessly from the start.
The journey began in late 2005, when Solar Ice Rink - still the only rink in east and central Africa - opened to the public. Some expatriates held training sessions there, sowing the sport's earliest seeds in Kenya.
"The first Kenyans to play ice hockey totaled five to 10, [and were] not officially organized," said Opiyo, who initially heard of the game from an ice skating community during a stay in Malaysia from 2007 to 2010.
Pursuing a demanding computer science program, the young Kenyan discovered a sanctuary of "peace, comfort, and relaxation" where he would glide in circles. After returning home, Opiyo took his first strides at the Solar Ice Rink.
"The moment you step on the ice, you completely forget about everything that's going on around you," he said. "On ice, we have disagreements and fights; Off ice, we become friends."
It wasn't until 2016 that Kenya's national team, the Ice Lions, was formed. The nickname reflects the country's iconic wildlife and the rink's proximity to Nairobi National Park.
Struggles defined those early days, from a subpar rink, scarce and second-hand equipment, high rental fees, to the grind of full-time jobs to make ends meet.
For the head coach position, the team turned to Tim Colby, a seasoned Canadian junior coach with over 10 years of experience, who initially declined the offer. Yet, as Opiyo noted, "as Kenyans, we work as a community."
Without proper goaltending gear, the team practiced shooting at a rubber penguin. They booked early-morning or late-night slots, when the venue was free of public skaters, and adapted to a work-plus-training routine.
Despite their efforts, they still lacked expert guidance and kept asking Colby until he finally agreed to take the reins.
"All of us just do this out of passion," Opiyo said. "We love the sport and want the best for it, not just for us, but also for the next generation."
A turning point came in 2018, when Chinese e-business giant Alibaba Group brought Opiyo and four others to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics through its "To the Greatness of Small" campaign.
"The amount of support and love for us as underdogs" really stood out at the event in South Korea, Opiyo said.
"Being in the same room with Thomas Bach, the IOC chairman at that time, and also Yao Ming, meant a lot," he said. "Ice hockey is not just something we are doing for fun. People are watching, we have to do something about it."
That year, 12 Ice Lions were also invited to play a friendly in Canada, where many of them donned full gear for the first time and met legends like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.
"From then, things really snowballed," observed Colby, whose duty began in 2018 as well. "More players started coming out. More interest from international media and more sponsors. The game is really developing here."
Although rink time, at more than 100 U.S. dollars per hour, still limits their training, the skill level and talent pool have steadily improved, with several milestones achieved.
"We have a senior team, an intermediate team and a youth team, getting much better bit by bit. We also have a women's program," Colby said. "We can now separate people by skill, age and experience levels."
Off the ice, the Kenya Federation of Ice Sports was founded in 2019, a key step toward better management. Opiyo has served as its president since 2024.
"Before you make it to the Olympics, you need to be recognized by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, which we are working towards. Besides, you need recognition by the IIHF, which we have so far achieved," he said.
With the 2026 Winter Olympics now less than a month away, the nascent Ice Lions are still far from qualifying, but their enthusiasm remains undimmed.
In June 2025, Kenya claimed its first-ever championship trophy after defeating a strong squad featuring U.S., Canadian, and Finnish players at the fifth Madaraka Day Cup.
"It has been a journey of growth, passion, sweat, and tears," captain Benjamin Mburu said, recalling his first ice hockey session in November 2015. "I want everyone one day to associate Kenya not just with athletics, but also ice hockey."
Tyson Michael, a former boot handler working part-time at the rink, treasures his role as a goaltender, committed to stopping every puck despite the risks of the position.
Having taken up ice hockey in late 2022, Michael, 29, still harbors ambitions of a professional career, though he admits "it's too late to say," with a touch of regret.
"But what I wish for is getting the skills I can pass to the coming generations," the juniors coach stressed. "I want to see one pure Kenyan in the NHL and the Olympics."
For Opiyo as a federation chair, his main focus is to create more opportunities for youth.
"Should they decide to play, they can have a much easier experience, whether it's with transportation to the rink, or access to equipment and scholarships," he noted.
Meanwhile, Colby, 62, is passing the baton to senior players with the potential to take on coaching roles.
"It is not just about me retiring. It is about them taking over," he said. "I would like to eventually just be sitting in the stands and being amazed at how well they play."
Colby said his ultimate objective is to watch people "keep playing the game I grew up with, enjoy it, and come off the ice with a smile."
"Ice hockey was once viewed as a rich, white person's sport. It's not that anymore. Non-traditional players are coming up," he said. "Here on the equator with this one small rink, the game is growing. That's just an amazing accomplishment in itself."
In the Alibaba video, when questioned about how to reach the Olympics without ever having seen snow, the Kenyan protagonist replies: "One day."
The Ice Lions now boast more than 50 youth players and over 50 seniors, both male and female, with the youngest among them just five or six years old.
"From day one, when I got invited to play here, people have kept saying: 'one day, we want to play in the Winter Olympics,'" Opiyo said.
"This is one of the biggest goals and dreams we've ever had." ■
Tim Colby, head coach of Kenya's national ice hockey team, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Nairobi, Kenya on Nov. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Kenya's national ice hockey team goalkeeper Tyson Michael sorts team equipment at the rink in Nairobi, Kenya on Nov. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
This photo taken on Nov. 22, 2025 shows the equipment of Kenya's national ice hockey team in Nairobi, Kenya. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Kenya's national ice hockey team captain Benjamin Mburu speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Nairobi, Kenya on Nov. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Robert Ouko Opiyo, chairman of the Kenya Federation of Ice Sports, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Nairobi, Kenya on Nov. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Kenya's national ice hockey team goalkeeper Tyson Michael, a former boot handler, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Nairobi, Kenya on Nov. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Kenya's national ice hockey team captain Benjamin Mburu (R) and goalkeeper Tyson Michael attend a training session in Nairobi, Kenya, on Nov. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Kenya's national ice hockey team captain Benjamin Mburu participates in a training session in Nairobi, Kenya, on Nov. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
