Female hockey receives £3million boost
Female hockey in Ghana has received a major boost following the decision by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) together with the England Hockey Federation and the United Kingdom Sports team to invest £30,000.00 to strengthen the team ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
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The investment is aimed at making the players more skilful and competitive at tournaments such as the World Cup, the Olympic and the Commonwealth Games.
Addressing the media in Accra as part of their three-day visit to Ghana, a member of the FIH, Mr. Mike Joyce, announced that the United Kingdom (UK) had put in a bid to host the 2018 Hockey World Cup.
He said the investment was in line with their desire to accelerate the development of female hockey in Ghana and some West African countries .
Besides interacting with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mahama Ayariga, the team also visited Kumasi on a fact-finding mission where they witnessed some female teams playing with passion.
Mr. Joyce announced that a four-year development project had been rolled out as part of the investment, saying, coaches and umpires would be supported to develop their skills in those areas.
This, he said, would not only make them more professional in their operations, but would also create competitive spirit among players for them to deliver.
According to Mr. Joyce, the investment would also cover the hosting of periodic international hockey tournaments in Ghana with the view of generating interest in the game and creating competitive spirit among teams.
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He expressed concern about some of the hockey pitches in Ghana, especially that of Kumasi, saying their visit to the Garden City revealed that; “The females hockey players play the game with passion, but the pitch is an eyesore”.
He, therefore, assured that they would support the development of hockey pitches to induce players to offer their best.