Butali keen to sign their trio of dazzling foreign stars

Butali Warriors hockey team finished third at the recently concluded African Club Cup Championships held in Nairobi and at the heart of their impressive outing was a young talented Dutch player, Hattum Jannis.

Handed an advanced midfield role, Hattum almost nonchalantly unlocked defences with his spell-binding range of passing and close dribbling.

The 21-year-old is one among a trio of foreign stars that captivated fans within Coach Meshack Senge’s Butali set up, with compatriot Joost Rijksen and Pakistani goalkeeper Salman Akbar the other two.

Equally in awe of their skill sets is the Butali management who are already fast tracking their plans to sign the trio for next season.

“We have been in discussion with them for the last one year and because of the season being midway last year we could not sign them up but now we are in discussion with them hoping to sign them to play for us next season,” Butali Manager Sanje Patel told Citizen Digital.

January 14 at the Nairobi City Park, Butali warriors hoist one of their members high and deservedly so. Rijksen was one of the standout players scoring 3 goals for the side and ticked all the right boxes on his debut despite ultimately failing to lead his side into the final.

The 26-year-old was one of three foreign players who featured for the 2015 Kenya men’s hockey premier league champions at the regional event where they finished third overall.

He has held a hockey stick since he was six and was spotted by one of Butali’s senior management while playing for Pinoke, a Dutch premiership club in the Netherlands last year where was approached with an offer to test his abilities in Kenya.

He took a leap of faith and agreed to join Butali alongside his teammate and good friend Van Hattum ahead of the african club championships.

“It’s my first time in kenya, and it’s a wonderful experience, i really love the country and the culture, it’s really exciting,” Rijksen said.

“It’s my second time in Kenya but for the time before it was for holiday and vacation and this time I came to play. It has been great; Kenya and Nairobi has been great so far, and my team mates are just great guys,” Van Hatum concurred.

Akbar is arguably the most experienced player in the squad.

The 35 year old is a goalkeeper who has won gold with Pakistan at the Asian Games and has 230 caps with the national team.

The trio come from top hockey playing nations and believe the gap between Kenya and the established nations can be bridged if the sport gains more support.

“They’ve got the basics, and they are really getting there especially with the technical and tactical point. Of course they have a lot to improve but they are getting there and I really enjoyed the matches as well.

“There is potential and I think we need to facilitate the players and make a proper structure and a long term plan,” Rijksen added.

The three could agree terms ahead of the start of the new local season in March.